Static strength of chord reinforced tubular Y-joints under axial loading

Abstract

Experimental tests on two full-scale un-reinforced circular tubular Y-joints and two corresponding chord reinforced ones subjected to brace axial compressive loading are carried out. It is found from experimental measurements that the static strength of a tubular Y-joint can be greatly improved by increasing the chord thickness locally near the weld toe. In addition, finite element models (FEM) are also built to analyze the static strength of the above specimens. The numerical results show a good agreement with the experimental results to prove the accuracy and reliability of the FEM. Using the presented FEM, a parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of some geometrical (α, β, γ and θ) and reinforcing parameters (Tc/T, Lc/d1) on improving the static strength. Based on the investigation, a parametric equation is presented for predicting the static strength of the reinforced circular tubular Y-joint subjected to axial loading, and the accuracy of this parametric equation is then verified through error analysis.