Study On Mechanical Behavior Of New Type Wekl End-plate Joint For Reticulated Shell

Rod with rectangular cross-section compared to round cross-section has a big advantagein the flexural rigidity and is used in reticulated shells gradually. As the joint form ofreticulated shell with square or rectangular cross-section rods is always complicate, theapplication of square and rectangular cross-section rod is limited. A new type of weldend-plate joint for reticulated shell is proposed, which applies to reticulated shell with squareor rectangular cross-section rod. The structural form of weld end-plate joint for reticulatedshell is setting a joint plate in the angle bisector of the adjacent rods and welding all rods onthe both sides of the joint plate. There is few research on this kind of joint at home and aboard,and no design code can be referred to. In order to understand the mechanical behavior andextend use of the weld end-plate joint for reticulated shell, experimental analysis and finiteelement analysis are needed.A1:2model loading test is performed to visually investigate stress distribution andfailure mode of the weld end-plate joint for reticulated shell. Experimental results show thatthe structural form of the weld end-plate joint for reticulated shell is reasonable and themechanical behavior is fine. Finite element model is founded in ABAQUS, the results showgood agreement between the experiment and finite element analysis in load-strain curve、load-displacement curve and failure mode. As the finite element analysis is proved to beaccurate, parameter analysis is carry out, in which ideal elastic-plastic constitutive model isadopted. The influence of ratio of the thickness of joint plate and rods(t2/t1)、horizontalcontained angle(α)、out-plane angle(β)on ultimate strength is mainly considered. In the basisof results of finite element analysis, design proposal for the ultimate strength of weldend-plate joints for reticulated shell is recommended. Multi-scale FE model of weld end-platejoints for reticulated shell is founded in ABAQUS by the method of multiple points constraint.Mechanical behavior of weld end-plate joint for reticulated shell in real boundary conditionsis researched, the results further verify safety of the weld end-plate joint for reticulated shell.The research results of this paper provide a theoretical basis to the design of weld end-plate joint for reticulated shell and can be used in engineering practice directly.