Thick Steel Plates Research Articles

Parametric study on the pull-out performance of screw connections in cold-formed thin-walled steel structures

Screw connections have been extensively used in cold-formed steel constructions due to convenient construction and high capacity. However, little attention has been paid to the pull-out performance and parametric effects of screw connections. In this paper, the pull-out performance of screw connections is experimentally and numerically investigated. The objective of this study is to develop a refined finite element (FE) model that can be used to parametrically analyze the pull-out performance of screw connections. Eight sets of experimental results are selected for comparison with the FE results to validate the accuracy of the FE model. Based on the validated FE model, parametric analyses of the main variables in screw connections are conducted to discuss the effects of the tensile strength, the steel plate thickness, screw diameter and the ratio of thread pitch to plate thickness on the pull-out performance of screw connections. The results indicate that the failure modes of specimens are mainly classified into screw hole extrusion and thread shear failure. It is also found that the tensile strength, the steel plate thickness, screw diameter and the ratio of thread pitch to plate thickness have significant effects on the pull-out resistance of screw connections. Particularly, the numerically obtained pull-out resistance are used to assess the accuracy of the codified design rules for screw connections, as given in the Chinese Code, North American Specification, British Standard and European Norm. The evaluation results reveal that the current design formulas are relatively conservative. The formula proposed by one referenced paper is insecure, while the distribution trend is basically consistent with the straight line of PS/PFEM = 1.0 (the ratio of the calculated values to the FE values is equal to1.0), therefore, it can be used as a good reference for calculating the pull-out resistance of screw connections. Besides, the modified design formula in this study has good applicability.

Seismic Behavior of Box Steel Bridge Pier with Built-In Energy Dissipation Steel Plates

Based on the design concept of earthquake-resilient structure, a new-type of box-shaped steel piers with embedded energy-dissipating steel plates was proposed. Quasi-static tests of 6 box-shaped steel pier specimens under variable axial pressure and cyclic horizontal loading were carried out. By analyzing the failure mode, load-displacement hysteretic curve, skeleton curve, displacement ductility coefficient, stiffness degradation characteristics, strength degradation coefficient, and cumulative hysteretic energy, the effects of setting energy-dissipating steel plate, axial compression ratio, and thickness of energy dissipation steel plates on the seismic performance of new-type steel piers were discussed. Finite element models of steel bridge piers were established and compared with the test results. The analysis results using FEM agree well with the test results. Results show that the setting of energy-dissipating steel plates can effectively improve the ductility, deformation capacity, and energy-dissipating capacity of box-shaped steel piers, and effectively delay buckling deformation and cracking of wall plates. The steel plate near the bolt hole of the wall plate at the root of the new-type of box-shaped steel piers is easy to crack due to stress concentration, resulting in a rapid reduction of the maximum bearing capacity of the specimens. With the increase of axial compression ratio, the bearing capacity, energy-dissipating capacity, and earthquake-resilient capacity of the specimens increase. The smaller the thickness of the replaceable energy-dissipating steel plates, the smaller the bearing capacity and faster the stiffness degradation of the specimens become, while the ductility and energy-dissipating capacity of the specimens are improved. The axial compression ratio and the thickness of the energy-dissipating steel plate have relatively little effect on the strength degradation of the specimens. In order to facilitate the popularization and application of the new-type steel piers, formulas were also established to calculate the bearing capacity and displacement ductility factor of the new-type of box-shaped steel piers.

Study on the Mechanical Properties of Perforated Steel Plate Reinforced Concrete.

In this paper, the mechanical properties of perforated steel plate reinforced concrete were studied. Through the compression test of the specimen, the failure mode, the compressive ultimate bearing capacity, and the stress–strain curve of the specimen were obtained. The results show that the compressive strength of perforated steel plate reinforced concrete is twice that of the same grade of plain concrete; through the pull-out test of the specimen, the failure mode and the ultimate uplift bearing capacity were obtained. The finite element software ANSYS was used to simulate the perforated steel plate reinforced concrete specimen, and the results show that the model is reliable. Through the range analysis method, the influence degree of the three factors of the thickness of the perforated steel plate, the hole diameter, and the hole spacing on the compressive strength and the ultimate bearing capacity of the pull-out was studied, and the optimal solution was obtained. The analysis results show that the order of the three factors on the compression and pull-out tests is: the plate thickness of the perforated steel plate > the hole diameter > the hole spacing; the optimal combination of the compressive strength of the perforated steel plate reinforced concrete specimen is that the thickness of the perforated steel plate is 0.75 mm, the diameter of the perforated steel plate is 15 mm, and the spacing of the perforated steel plate is 5 mm; the optimal combination of the ultimate bearing capacity of the pull-out is that the thickness of the steel plate with holes is 1.0 mm, the diameter of the steel plate with holes is 15 mm, and the spacing of the steel plate with holes is 15 mm.

The Effect of Welded Splice with Predetermined Gap of Concrete Spun Pile on The Response of Low Strain Integrity Test

This paper presents the velocity wave of concrete spun piles with welded splice. The stress wave velocity was recorded using Pile Integrity Test. Two specimens were prepared in the experiment. The first sample was prepared visually no gap between the two end-plates of connected piles, while the second specimen was prepared by inserting 5mm thick steel plate into the splice to create a gap in its connection. The results show that a spike of reflecting stress wave still develops at the splice with and without gap, regardless the splice was welded in full circle. The relatively high spikes of reflecting waves at pile toe are noticed for both specimens with and without gaps. It shows that the full welded splice able to transfer stress wave velocity. A good quality of welded splice can be indicated by the reflecting wave at the pile toe, regardless the reflecting wave development at the splice.

Evaluation of the Corrosion Depth of Double Bottom Longitudinal Girder on Aging Bulk Carriers

The longitudinal girder (LG) between fuel oil tanks (FOT) and water ballast tanks in the double bottoms of ships represent critical structural parts whose watertight nature could be harmed by corrosion, thus, causing the pollution of water ballast tanks and adjacent areas. The new common structural rules (CSR) define the minimum thickness values of structural elements and corrosion margins. The assessment of the deviations from the prescribed values during ship operation could optimize the prescribed criteria. Assuming that corrosive processes begin after four years of operation, the paper analyzes a linear model that describes the percentage of plate wear as a function of the built-in thickness of LG of FOT. The research included 20 ships and provided the database for 1918 corrosion depth values. The gauging records included the average values of the original thickness of steel plates grouped in three intervals (11–13 mm, 13–15 mm, 15–18 mm). Based on the difference between the built-in and subsequently measured values, the paper analyzes the percentage of thickness reduction due to corrosion, concerning the original plate thickness. The findings of the research should facilitate the optimization of corrosion margins and prevent potential structural collapse and pollution.

Experimental examination of strength and behavior of masonry brick walls strengthened with expanded steel plates

As primary load-bearing members of masonry buildings, the strength and behavior of masonry brick walls are the most important factors affecting the structural performance for the loads the building is exposed to during its life span. The current paper therefore experimentally examines a structural strengthening method to improve the performance and behavior of masonry brick walls. Masonry walls were strengthened with expanded steel plates of different thicknesses attached to the walls using different numbers of bolts. Five wall specimens were examined under a diagonal static compression test. For strengthening, expanded steel plates were anchored to both sides of un-plastered walls using bolts and were then plastered. The thickness of the steel plates and the number of bolts were examined as experimental variables. The results showed that the strengthened wall specimens using expanded steel plates of different thicknesses and different numbers of bolts increased an average of 45-94% ultimate strength at 245mm displacement, the ductility of all strengthened specimens increased by 114%-180% and an average increment of 280-480% higher energy dissipation capacities compared to the reference specimen. The result shows that strengthening masonry brick walls provides 2 to 3 times higher energy dissipation capacity for the energy generated by seismic effects compared to the reference specimen. The research then indicated the expanded plate thickness in strengthening walls has a direct relation with load-bearing capacity of brick masonry walls. An increase of 33% and 100% in plate thickness resulted to increase in load bearing capacity by 2% and 11.5%, respectively. It has also been observed that specimens did not experience a sudden drop in load carrying capacity. They maintained their stability until the end of the tests and changed their stiffness and ductility.

Thermal analysis of thin P91 steel using FlexPDE and SYSWELD

In this paper investigation of FEM based thermal analysis of Gas Tungsten Arc welding of 2 mm thick plate ferritic martensitic steel plate was carried out. Three dimensional thermo-elastic model based on FEA was carried using two different softwares SYSWELD and FlexPDE. In the initial part of the work, heat source fitting (HSF) was carried out using Grade 91 steel bead on plate welding. Predicted weld profile using heat source fitting tool was compared with predicted models. In both the softwares step-by-step modeling has been carried out using HSF analysis tool. In the second step square butt joint welding of Grade 91 steel was carried.

Ambient, elevated temperature tensile properties and origin of strengthening in friction stir welded 6 mm thick reduced activation ferritic-martensitic steel plates in as-welded and post-weld normalised conditions

Reduced Activation Ferritic-Martensitic (RAFM) steels are currently being considered for test blanket modules of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. This study is aimed at understanding the microstructure and mechanical properties of Indian RAFM steel during friction stir welding (FSW) of 6 mm thick plates. The full penetration bead-on-plate welds were fabricated employing PcBN tool at a rotational speed of 200 rpm. The FSW joint consisted of stir zone, thermomechanically affected zone and BM. Microstructure, hardness and tensile properties were evaluated in as-received (base metal, BM), as-welded and post weld normalised + tempered states. The as-received microstructure was composed of Cr-rich M23C6 on prior austenite grain and tempered lath martensite boundaries with intra-lath V-and Ta -rich monocarbides. Substantial changes occurred during welding leading to destruction and dissolution of M23C6 and precipitation of Fe3C in SZ. The microstructure was restored to the BM level by giving a post weld normalising and tempering treatment. Comparative study on tensile properties has been carried out at room and elevated temperatures (up to 550 °C) in all the three states and the observed variations have been explained on the basis of initial microstructure and evolving substructures. The as-welded samples showed higher strength and low percentage elongation values. The ductility was minimum in all the states at an intermediate temperature and ascribed to the dynamic strain ageing. All the states revealed falling strength with increasing temperature up to 550 °C. Failure occurred in AW and PWNT states at the interface between TMAZ and BM. Irrespective of material state and tensile test temperature, the transgranular ductile fracture prevailed. The contribution of the different strengthening mechanisms to the yield strength of the SZ region has been estimated theoretically and it matches with the experimental results. The influence of low angle grain boundaries (LAGB) and high angle grain boundaries (HAGB) on the tensile behaviour of the SZ was well explained using the Electron Back Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) maps of these regions.

The effects of post-weld aging and cryogenic treatment on self-fusion welded austenitic stainless steel

The effects of post-weld aging and cryogenic treatment on self-fusion welded austenitic stainless steel thick plates were investigated in the present work. The results showed that fusion zone microstructure consisted of austenite matrix and vermicular ferrite. Aging treatment promoted the decomposition of δ-ferrite into σ-ferrites as well as the precipitation of carbides. Isothermal martensitic transformation in the Tungsten Inert Gas Welding (TIG) specimen was induced by cryogenic treatment, and stacking faults were increased. The fusion zone microstructure of Electron Beam Welding (EBW) and Laser Welding (LW) was finer than that of TIG, with acicular ferrite distributed in the austenite matrix. A large number of twins were generated in the austenite matrix after LW. Cryogenic treatment produced a large number of sub-grains in LW specimens, which was due to the entanglement and accumulation of dislocations in the vicinity of ferrite. Post-weld aging and cryogenic treatment have no influence on the strength of weldments with different welding methods while cryogenic treatment could improve the impact toughness of EBW and LW weldments by the extent of 7.4% and 8.8%, respectively. The aging treatment reduced the impact toughness by 49%, 33% and 15.5%, as well as the uniform elongation by 44%, 39% and 17% for TIG, EBW and LW, respectively. Aging treatment reduced the surface residual stress of TIG weldment by 58.8% in Y direction and 61.2% in X direction. Cryogenic treatment at could also release the surface residual stress of TIG weldment by 36.8% in X direction and 16.3% in Y direction.

A Comparative Study of Mechanical and Microstructural Behavior for Metal Active Gas and Friction Stir Welded Micro-Alloyed Structural Steel

Manufacturing tiny components into gigantic structures seems unimaginable without welding connections, whether it is for materials, parts, structures, or equipment. In the recent competitive market scenario, manufacturing industries are desperately looking for a viable alternative to fusion-based conventional material joining technologies, to improve upon cost-effectiveness along with performance. The present investigation is to evaluate the performance of structural steel thick plate joints prepared by advanced solid-state friction stir welding (FSW) over conventional metal active gas welding (MAG). The FSW experiments were carried out with different tool designs and configurations. The outcomes were evaluated in terms of microstructural integrity and mechanical joint resistance. Impressive results were obtained with FSW joints, characterized by an almost defect-free microstructure with a leaner heat-affected zone and higher joint resistance as compared to conventional MAG-welded joints.

Experimental and Numerical Studies on Fixed Steel Sheets Subjected to Underwater Explosion.

This study presents underwater explosion tests with three different TNT charge weights to investigate the dynamic responses of a fixed steel sheet. A finite element model was established and benchmarked by comparing the bubble development and deformation distribution from the tests. The steel sheet shows a deformation process of hogging, sagging, and hogging again, due to the actions of shock waves, bubble expansion, bubble collapse, and bubble pulsation. The air may be sucked into the bubble during the hogging process, making the bubble collapse earlier and resulting in a relatively lower sagging deformation for large charge weights of TNT. The deformation caused by bubble pulsation is larger than that by the shock waves, owing to the large time duration of bubble pulsation. A parametric analysis was conducted to study the influence of steel grade, plate thickness, detonation distance, and the shape and position of charges on the dynamic behavior of steel plates subjected to underwater explosions. It shows that the damage to the steel plate gradually decreases, with the increase in steel strength, plate thickness, and detonation distance. The influence of the shape and position of charges is limited. The largest deformation is observed when the detonation distance increases to bubble radius.

Solid phase transformation effects on stress and strain in the thick plate EH40 welded butt joint

To accurately predict welding-induced residual stress and strain of high strength steel thick plate EH40 butt joint in single-pass full penetration laser welding, a complete solid phase transformation model according to the actual weld microstructure was proposed through material constitutive development. At the same time, the Case 1 considering the traditional thermo-elastoplastic were used as comparative study. The simulation calculation results and experimental results of each phase content were compared and verified. The stress and strain distribution of welded joints and the evolution mechanism of nodes in three zone including fusion zone, heat-affected zone and base metal were deeply studied and compared. The results indicated that the solid phase transformation had an obvious effect on the peak and distribution of longitudinal, transverse, normal and equivalent residual stress, as well as the stress gradient at the junction of heat-affected zone and BM. It increased the peak value of longitudinal residual compressive stress from –103 MPa to –768 MPa, with an increase of 645.6%. The stress gradient at the junction of heat-affected zone and base metal was up to 1299 MPa. The state distribution of longitudinal and transverse stress in the weld and its vicinity were completely opposite to the Case 1. The peak value of transverse plastic compressive strain increased from –0.059 to –0.111, with an increase of 88.1%. The fusion zone and heat-affected zone of the plastic strain in welded joints were more easily observed. It was found that martensitic transformation was the main reason for the obvious difference of stress and strain distribution and the evolution mechanism of stress and strain in the later stage of cooling stage.

Fatigue Properties and Residual Stresses of Laser-Welded Heat-Resistant Pressure Vessel Steel, Verification on Vessel Model

Most power plants use the Rankine cycle, where the heat supplied to water and steam is converted into mechanical work; therefore, most components have to be made of heat-resistant steel. Sufficient mechanical properties must be ensured for welded pipes to meet stringent requirements. Therefore, laser-welded 5 mm thick heat-resistant pressure vessel steel plates were subjected to various mechanical tests, including high-cycle fatigue tests. The microstructural notches were determined using X-ray diffraction too to determine critical areas that are susceptible to crack initialization and affect the service life. Finally, a functional model of the pressure vessel subsequently verified the results and assumptions. The presented results ensure the transferability of the results to real-life applications and outline the promising application potential of laser welding for producing vessels and pipes from heat-resistant steel in the industry.

Influence of Material Thickness on the Ductile Fracture of Steel Plates for Shipbuilding

Abstract In the shipbuilding industry, the risk of brittle fractures is relatively high because some units operate in arctic or subarctic zones and use high thickness (up to 100 mm) steel plates in their structures. This risk is limited by employing certified materials with a specific impact strength, determined using the Charpy method (for a given design temperature) and by exercising control over the welding processes (technology qualification, production supervision, and non-destructive tests). However, for offshore constructions, such requirements may prove insufficient. For this reason, regulations employed in constructing offshore structures require conducting crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) tests for steel and welded joints with thicknesses exceeding 40 mm for high tensile strength steel and 50 mm for other steel types. Since classification codes do not accept the results of CTOD tests conducted on specimens of sub-sized dimensions, the problem of theoretically modelling the steel construction destruction process is of key importance, as laboratory tests for notched elements of considerable thickness (100 mm and higher) are costly and problems stemming from high loads and a wide range of recorded parameters are not uncommon. The aim of this research is to find a relationship between material thickness and CTOD value, by establishing and verifying a numerical model that allows recalculating a result obtained on a sub-size specimen to a full- size specimen for a ductile fracture mode. This work presents results and conclusions from numerical modelling and compares them with laboratory test results of the elastic-plastic properties of high thickness steel, typically used in offshore applications.

Controlled Cooling Temperature Prediction of Hot-Rolled Steel Plate Based on Multi-Scale Convolutional Neural Network

Controlled cooling technology is widely used in hot-rolled steel plate production lines. The final cooling temperature directly affects the microstructure and properties of steel plates, but cooling and heat transfer constitutes a nonlinear process, which is difficult to be accurately described using a mathematical model. In order to improve the accuracy of the controlled cooling temperature, a multi-scale convolutional neural network is used to predict the final cooling temperature. Convolution kernels with different sizes are introduced in the layer of a multi-scale convolutional neural network. This structure can simultaneously extract the feature information of different sizes and improve the perceptual power of the network model. The measured steel plate thickness, speed, header flow, and other variables are taken as input. The final cooling temperature is taken as the output and predicted using a multi-scale convolutional neural network. The results show that the multi-scale convolution neural network prediction model has strong generalization and nonlinear fitting ability. Compared with the traditionally structured BP neural network and convolution neural network (CNN), the mean square error (MSE) of the multi-scale convolutional neural network decreased by 24.7% and 12.2%, the mean absolute error (MAE) decreased by 19.6% and 7.97%, and the coefficient of determination (R2) improved by 4.26% and 2.65%, respectively. The final cooling temperature traditional structure by the multi-scale CNN agreed with the actual temperature within ±10% error bands. As the prediction accuracy improved, the multi-scale CNN can be effectively applied to hot-rolled steel plate production.

A novel modification to TW-GIA for controlling heat input of base metal

ABSTRACT Bypass coupling triple-wire gas indirect arc welding (TW-GIA) has been proposed to control the heat input of base metal and consequently improve the weld forming as per the requirement. The influence of the bypass current on arc behavior, welding stability, and weld forming have been investigated. Results showed that the wetting angle and reinforcement reduced gradually, and the weld bead penetration increased with the bypass current increase. The reason was that the workpiece heating mode was changed due to the bypass circuit coupling. It was observed that the heat source was composed of two indirect arcs and two direct arcs, and they were in a coupling state. When the bypass current was 280 A, the electrical parameters of arc fluctuations were at a maximum, and the coupled arc state was not conducive to obtain a stable welding process. Compared to the lack of sidewall fusion and incomplete joint penetration defects of the weld with TW-GIA, the good butt joint of 12 mm thickness steel plates was successfully obtained with bypass coupling TW-GIA under the same energy consumption.

Fatigue strength of partial penetration butt welds of mild steel

This paper presents the influences of the irregularity “insufficient penetration welding” on the fatigue strength based on experimental and numerical investigations. For this purpose, the fatigue strength of partial penetration butt welds of mild steel (S355) with different non-welded gaps were subjected to fatigue loading. Three different planned gap dimensions (h = 4, 6, 8 mm) at one-sided (Y-seam) and two-sided (DY-seam) partial penetration butt welds were analysed. The results were obtained on a small-scale test specimen with a steel plate thickness of t = 20 mm, without axial and angular misalignment. For the numerical effective notch stress approach, regression formula for efficient analysis of stress concentration factors was determined. The results show that butt joints which are not fully penetrated on one or both sides, and which were previously not permissible for welded joints subject to fatigue loading, can be evaluated in the future on the basis of these investigations.

Global Stability Performance of Multi-Cellular T-Shaped CFST Slender Columns under Eccentric Compression

With the development of pre-fabricated composite structures, concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) columns have been widely used, and researches on T-shaped CFST slender columns have attracted much attention. Since ordinary T-shaped CFST columns have weak constraint on concrete at the sectional concave angle region and local buckling easily occurs in this region, a multi-cellular T-shaped concrete filled steel tubular (MCT-CFST) column was developed for improving the axial resistant performance. In this study, the global stability performance of MCT-CFST slender columns under uniaxial eccentric compression was investigated. Firstly, three pin-ended MCT-CFST slender columns were tested under eccentric compression with different eccentricities. Secondly, a refined finite-element (FE) model of MCT-CFST column was established, and the load–displacement curves, Mises stress and deformation diagrams from the FE analysis were compared with the experimental results to verify the validity of the FE model. Moreover, based on the validated FE model, a parametric analysis was carried out to study the effects of normalized slenderness ratio, thickness of steel plate and material strength on the global stability performance of MCT-CFST slender columns under combined axial and bending loads. Finally, [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] interaction curves were obtained from the numerical simulations, and these results were considered to provide valuable references for designing MCT-CFST slender columns in engineering practice.

An Analytical Solution for Steel Plate Strengthened Circular Tunnels with Various Interface Slip Modes

A simplified analytical solution for steel plate strengthened circular tunnel concrete linings is presented, considering various interface slip modes. The full derivation for the analytical solution is introduced in detail, from which explicit expressions for the stress and displacement fields throughout the system are obtained. The distribution of lining deformation, internal force, and the interaction stress between tunnel lining and steel plate were investigated by considering various tunnel-steel interface scenarios, namely no slip, full slip, and elastic slip. The result demonstrates the importance of having a well-bonded interface to maximize the benefits of the steel plate strengthening approach. The maximum interface shear stress locates at the position with minimum interface normal stress. Subsequently, the influence of interface shear stiffness and steel plate thickness on the composited tunnel lining performance was investigated. It is founded that the improvement of the interface shear stiffness can enhance the overall structural stiffness of the strengthened tunnel lining, which results in increases in the interaction stresses and lining forces simultaneously. With a ratio of the steel thickness to the tunnel lining thickness less than 0.1, greater achievement in both strengthening effectiveness and cost efficiency is obtained.

Experimental Study on Seismic Performance of Prefabricated Frame Column Joints with a High Axial Compression Ratio

A new type of an assembled monolithic concrete column encased by partial outsourcing steel was proposed, and the seismic performance was proposed. To study the seismic performance such as failure mode, hysteretic behavior, deformation, ductility of the specimen, and the influence of the outsourcing steel pipe on the mechanical performance of the specimens, the comparative tests of four full-scale specimens under low cyclic reciprocating load under a high axial compression ratio were carried out. The test results show that the monolithic column assembled with outsourced steel has better overall performance, and the failure of the specimen is the large eccentric compression failure with good ductility. The hysteresis and skeleton curves of the assembled columns are similar to the cast-in-site concrete column under the same conditions, which have a good ductility and energy dissipation capacity. It was established that increasing the thickness of the outer steel plate does not significantly improve the mechanical performance of the component when the load-bearing capacity of members satisfies the design requirements. The research results can provide a reference for theoretical research and practical engineering applications of assembled monolithic concrete column connections.