Experimental Assessment of the Behavior of Tubular Truss Girder Joints Fabricated with Laser Cutting Technology
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 6
Abstract
Directly welded truss girder joints result in high-stress development on the tube wall, which leads to increased chord thicknesses, requires extra welding, and presents detailing difficulties. Laser cutting technology (LCT) allows us to make precise cuts and pass through the truss members, welding the connection on the two sides. This can reduce geometrical imperfections, and, as a result, it increases joint strength. This paper presents truss girder joints developed with LCT that can develop higher resistance to static gravity loads with respect to conventional connections thanks to the pass-through solution. An extensive experimental campaign (31 specimens) has been carried out involving the monotonic gravity loading of several truss specimens to simulate their in-service conditions. Different truss typologies are tested (Warren and Pratt) using circular and square hollow section profiles, at different scales (full-scale and small-scale). The results showed that Warren-type structures with LCT connection solutions had a 20% higher strength with respect to the equivalent structures with directly welded joints. Furthermore, the correlation between the different failure modes and joint parameters (e.g., angles and distance between brace members) has been discussed.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This research study was possible thanks to the research fund provided by the European Commission with the contract LASTEICON EU-RFCS GA-709807 (Castiglioni et al. 2016). The project consortium includes Fincon Consulting Italia srl (coordinator), RWTH Aachen, University of Pisa, Hasselt University, Instituto Superior Tecnico of Lisbon, and INSA Rennes, ADIGESYS, OCAM, and VALLOUREC. The cooperation of all of them is hereby gratefully acknowledged. Within this context, ongoing research activities have been carried out with the European project LASTTS (Laser cutting Technology for Tubular Structures) (Kanyilmaz et al. 2021a), which started as a continuation of the LASTEICON research framework. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Research Fund for Coal and Steel. Neither the European Union nor the Research Fund for Coal and Steel can be held responsible for them.
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Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 6 • June 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 30, 2022
Accepted: Feb 2, 2023
Published online: Apr 8, 2023
Published in print: Jun 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Sep 8, 2023
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