An axially restrained steel beam in a complete process of heating and cooling was physically tested and numerically simulated.The heating device was made in-house by the authors.The study has been emphasized on the regularity of mid-span deflection of the beam under different temperature

the buckling modes of the beam and the failure pattern of the axial support at the beam end in cases of different axial supporting stiffness and of different axial compressive ratio of the steel column.The numerical simulation of the beam was carried out with the finite element software package ANSYS using an indirect method for coupling the mechanical response with the thermal field.The numerical results agree well with the testing ones

which validates the finite element model and its parameter values.Some key problems in Chinese code for the fire safety of steel beams are discussed through comparative analyses

especially the connotation of the fire-resistant design of steel structures

to provide an alternative approach for the study of fire-resistant steel structures.