Experimental and numerical studies on SCFs of empty SHS-SHS T-joints under in-plane bending

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on square hollow section (SHS) T-joints (t4 mm) subjected to in-plane bending (IPB) on the brace. In the experimental investigation, strain gauges were used to measure the strains and determine the stress concentration factor (SCFs) at the potential hot spot locations (Lines A-E) for each SHS-SHS T-joint specimen. The numerical study was performed by developing three-dimensional finite element models through the use of ABAQUS software to capture the distribution of the SCF at the weld toes. In this investigation, the empty T-joints are made up of an empty SHS brace and empty SHS chord member. Six empty SHS-SHS T-joints were tested and modelled under static in-plane bending load. The maximum experimental and numerical SCFs will be compared with the SCFs obtained from CIDECT Design Guide 8. There is a good agreement between the numerical results and the experimental results for each identical T-joint connection. This paper provided additional results for smaller β values and larger β values. Results show a similar trend of the variation of SCF with β from experiments and numerical analysis