Stress concentration factors in tubular T-joints reinforced with external ring under in-plane bending moment

Abstract

The stress concentration factors (SCFs) in tubular T-joints reinforced with external ring under in-plane bending (IPB) moment are investigated. After validation of the FE model with experimental results, a set of 156 3D FE models was generated and analyzed to parametrically investigate the effect of the ring and joint geometry on the SCFs and SCF ratios. Results showed that the SCF of the T-joints with external ring can be down to 71% of the SCF of the corresponding un-reinforced joint. Also, the reducing effect of the ring width and thickness on the SCFs becomes more significant when one of these parameters is big. Despite the significant effect of the ring on the decrease of the SCFs, no study is conducted on the SCFs in any joints with external ring. Consequently, the FE results were used to propose an accurate formula for determining the SCFs. Also, the proposed equation was checked according to the UK DoE acceptance standard.