Influence of compression force on the probability distribution of moment capacity for WHSJs with randomly located corrosion

Abstract

Welded hollow spherical joints (WHSJs) are commonly used in reticulated shell structures. Corrosion on the surfaces of WHSJs can drastically reduce their loading capacity. WHSJs in reticulated shell structures are constantly subjected to compression force and moment. Compression force may affect the probability distribution of the moment capacity of WHSJs with randomly distributed corrosion. A large number of stochastic FE analyses were conducted in this work to investigate the influence of compression force on the probabilistic distribution of the bending capacity of WHSJs. The objectives of this work were to investigate the influence of compression force on bending capacity and to construct a probabilistic distribution model of bending capacity that considers the influence of compression force. The proposed method was validated and determined to have high accuracy in predicting the probabilistic distribution of the bending capacity of WHSJs in a complex force state.