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Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Axial Tensile Strength of CHS X-Joints Reinforced with External Stiffening Rings

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Abstract

To study the reinforcement effect of the external stiffening ring reinforced and unreinforced X-joints having a circular hollow section subjected to brace tensile load, an experimental and computer-simulated research has been done. Six full-scale X-joints are examined in this study: three reinforced specimens and three corresponding unreinforced ones. The test specimens cover different brace to chord diameters ratios (β) of 0.25, 0.51, and 0.73. The experimental facilities and detailed parameters are presented. The experimental results including failure modes, load–displacement curves, and ultimate capacity are analyzed and compared. Two failure modes, weld failure and chord plastification, are observed in the tests. The test results reveal an ultimate load enhancement in the reinforced joints by approximately 50% in comparison with the unreinforced joints and an initial stiffness increase of 248.1% for the β of 0.25 and approximately 49–76% for the β of 0.51 and 0.73. A finite element model using shell elements is developed, which accurately predicts the static performance of the X-joints subjected to brace tensile load with and without external stiffening rings.

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Acknowledgements

Support from Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Urban Design (Grant No. UDC2016030200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51778035), the JiandaJieqing Plan, and the Beijing Cooperative Innovation Research Center on Energy Saving and Emission Reduction is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Urban Design, School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Beijing Higher Institution Engineering Research Center of Structural Engineering and New Materials, Beijing Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Building Structure and Environment Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China

    Lei Zhao & Lei Zhu

  2. China Architecture Design and Research Group, Beijing, China

    Hailin Sun

  3. The Key Laboratory of Urban Security and Disaster Engineering of Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China

    Lu Yang

  4. Beijing Research Base for Architectural Culture, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China

    Xi Chen

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  1. Lei Zhao
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  2. Lei Zhu
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  3. Hailin Sun
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  4. Lu Yang
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  5. Xi Chen
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Correspondence to Lei Zhu.

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Zhao, L., Zhu, L., Sun, H. et al. Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Axial Tensile Strength of CHS X-Joints Reinforced with External Stiffening Rings. Int J Steel Struct 20, 1003–1013 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13296-020-00337-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13296-020-00337-1

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