Characteristics of the Static and Dynamic Behavior of Steel Piles with a Welded Joint

Abstract

During welding process to make joints, residual stress is inevitably produced and weld metal should be used. These influence the static and dynamic behavior of steel structures with welded joints, such as steel piles. In steel structures, dynamic mechanical behavior is different to static mechanical behavior. Therefore, to accurately predict the behavior of steel piles with a welded joint under static-dynamic loading, the research on influence of a welded joint on the static and dynamic behavior of steel piles is necessary. For that purpose, a rate-dependent plasticity model was used, considering strain rate hardening and temperature rise. In this paper, the distribution of welding residual stress in a welded joint was computed by using three-dimensional heat conduction analysis and three-dimensional thermal elastic-plastic analysis. The behavior of steel piles with a welded joint under axial static and dynamic loading was investigated by using three-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element analysis, which employed a rate-dependent plasticity model and included residual stress and mechanical properties of weld metal in a welded joint. The rate-dependent plasticity model used in this paper is proposed by the authors based on the static-dynamic loading tests. Numerical analysis results of steel piles with a welded joint were compared to those without a welded joint. In comparison, the characteristics of static and dynamic behavior of steel piles with a welded joint were investigated.