Investigating the failure behaviour of aluminium alloy gusset joints under impact loading: An experimental and numerical study

Abstract

The AAG joint, also known as the Temcor joint, is a well-established method for constructing long-span spatial grid structures using aluminium alloys. This joint system has been widely used and tested is considered a mature technology in the field. This paper investigates the tensile properties of 15 stainless-steel bolt connections for aluminium alloy plates at room temperature. Through testing, the load–displacement curve was obtained and two failure modes of the connection were identified. Test results show that the increase in the number of bolts and the thickness of aluminium alloy plate increases the ultimate bearing capacity of the connection. The thickness of the aluminium alloy plate was found to have a significant impact on the slippage effect of the bolts and the warping deformation of the contact surface. Based on the test results of the connection, three specimens of AAG joints were designed to study their dynamic behaviour under different impact loads. Our findings detail the dynamic response behaviour of joints subjected to varying impact times, including stress, acceleration, and displacement, as well as the resultant joint failure phenomenon. The test results show that AAG joints have good impact resistance. The refined FE model of the AAG joint was established using ANSYS/LS-DYNA, and its effectiveness was verified by comparing the stress, displacement, and acceleration between the numerical model and the experimental model. By comparing and analysing the final deformation of AAG joints obtained through test and numerical simulation, three distinct failure modes of AAG joints under impact load were identified. Finally, based on the stress nephogram and impact force time-history curve obtained by numerical simulation, the stiffness degradation law of AAG joints is discussed. This paper also discuss the energy dissipation mechanism of AAG joints during impact load, based on the strain energy time-history curve of each component.