Joints between plates or I sections and a circular hollow section chord

Abstract

Recently the International Institute of Welding's Sub-commission IIW-XV-E drafted new design recommendations for hollow section joints. The joint strength equations for circular hollow section (CHS) joints in these new recommendations are the result of extensive re-analyses. This paper deals with design recommendations for uniplanar T and X joints between plates or I section braces and a CHS chord. While these new design recommendations are directly related to those for CHS joints, small modifications are used in the constants to bring the equations in line with the available test data. The design recommendations for joints loaded by in-plane or out-of-plane bending are related to those for axial loading by simple factors. This paper further shows that considerable differences exist between the results of the various test data, and additional numerical investigations are recommended to solve these contradictions. © The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers.