Static Strength of Axially Loaded Elliptical Hollow Section X Joints with Braces Welded to Wide Sides of Chord. I: Numerical Investigations Based on Experimental Tests
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 1
Abstract
Experimental tests and subsequent finite-element (FE) calibration studies were conducted to study the static strength of axially loaded X joints between elliptical hollow sections (EHS) with braces welded to the wide sides of the chord. Good agreement between the experimental and numerical results was achieved. The behavior of the EHS joints was found to be similar to that of rectangular hollow section (RHS) joints. For the EHS X joints with a brace-to-chord diameter ratio () up to 0.80, the failure mode is chord plastification. For those with equal brace and chord diameters (), the failure mode is chord sidewall failure. Various aspects of FE modeling, such as weld size and shape, chord length, and chord-end boundary conditions were investigated through sensitivity studies. These results constitute a solid basis for the subsequent numerical parametric study.
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Acknowledgments
Appreciation is extended to Tata Tubes, UK for delivering the EHS sections, and to the University of Toronto (plus SSEF and NSERC), Canada, the National University of Singapore, Singapore and Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands for their financial and/or in-kind contributions. Further appreciation is extended to the Comité International pour le Développement et l’Etude de la Construction Tubulaire (CIDECT) for sponsoring this program and for the discussions in their Project Working Group. The authors are grateful for the laboratory experimentation performed by Ms. T. Haque (University of Toronto) and by Ms. Y. Fang (National University of Singapore).
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Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 1 • January 2014
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 18, 2012
Accepted: Dec 14, 2012
Published online: Dec 17, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Feb 24, 2014
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