Abstract:In order to obtain the effect of temperature on the residual stress in welded high strength Q460 steel sections, the Hsection and boxsection Q460 steel members were heated by using electric furnace and then cooled naturally to room temperature. The residual stresses were measured by using the sectioning method after the steel member cooling. For comparison, the residual stress in the steel member without heating was also tested. The magnitude of residual stresses after being exposed to high temperature were obtained as well as the reduction factor of residual stress exposed to various temperatures. The effect of reduction in residual stress on the load bearing capacity of Q460 steel columns at elevated temperature were analyzed by employing ANSYS. The study shows that temperature has a great influence on welded residual stress. As the temperature increases, the residual stress is more reduced. The reduction of residual stress has a significantly effect on the load bearing capacity of Q460 steel columns in fire, and the design value of load bearing capacity can be enhanced by 10% in comparison with the load bearing capacity without considering the residual stress variation.