Numerical Parametric Study on Hysteresis Performance of the Novel Dovetail Joint for Single-layer Grid Shells Subjected to Out-of-Plane Bending Moment

Abstract

The joint's cyclic behaviour and energy-dissipation capacity are important in lattice shell structures' resisting wind and seismic load capacities. Based on the bending test and FE analysis of the novel steel dovetail joint in the previous study, a full-scaled FE model with six H-shaped beams was analysed using the Abaqus program to determine the boundary conditions for the FE models of hysteric analysis. In the cyclic analysis, 1/6 FE models of the novel steel dovetail joints (NDJGs) were established and analysed based on the boundary conditions of the full FE model in the bending analysis and Quasi-static analysis step. The loading protocol is defined, and the analysis is carried out considering different design parameters, including hub ring thickness, slot edge thickness, and teeth depth. The analysis results indicated that the hub ring thickness does not affect the cyclic bending capacity and stiffness of the novel steel dovetail joint; meanwhile, they increased gradually when the slot edge increased. At the same time, the bending capacity is negatively correlated with the teeth depth, where the bending capacity is reduced when the teeth depth increases. All skeleton curves for all joints of this study are compared, and their energy-dissipation capacities and ductility are calculated. Finally, the novel steel dovetail joint showed an excellent energy-dissipation capacity with high ductility performance under cyclic loads.