Compression behavior of randomly corroded welded hollow spherical joints reinforced by different methods

Abstract

The welded hollow spherical joint (WHSJ) is one of the most commonly adopted joint types for spatial grid structures. It belongs to thin-walled structures, which are sensitive to corrosion. Actual projects indicate that aged grid structures are often deteriorated by corrosion. An efficient reinforcing scheme for WHSJs is of shortage for actual engineering application. On the basis of this research background, two reinforcing schemes for randomly corroded WHSJs are proposed in this study. The operational way is also suggested. The reinforcing efficiency is summarized. The presented work is mainly conducted based on a numerical analysis. The reliability of the established FE model is verified through experimental results. The influence of geometrical size on the reinforcement efficiency is then systematically analyzed. The work presented in this study can provide a possible way for the efficient reinforcement of grid structures connected by WHSJs.