Influence of chord axial load on the stiffness and resistance of welded “t” joints of SHS members

Abstract

The use of structural hollow sections is currently growing very fast, being of major importance an accuracy assessment of the analytical approaches available to these elements, namely their connections. These elements are mainly used in truss structures where the connected members are submitted to important axial forces. In this paper some results concerning Square Hollow Section (SHS) welded “T” joints will be presented. An emphasis is given to the effect of the chord axial loading on the connection resistance, to the ratio between membrane stiffness and initial stiffness, and also to the comparison between numerical and Eurocode 3 resistances.