Cranked‐Chord HSS Connections

Abstract

In the recent design of a major tubular roof structure involving parabolic hollow structural section (HSS) arches, a cranked‐chord K‐type connection near the support points was identified for further evaluation by laboratory testing. A stiffened form of the connection was tested in triplicate and deemed to satisfy the design criteria. Subsequently, a study was initiated to establish an appropriate design method for such connections, without stiffeners. Fourteen specimens have been tested, involving ten cranked‐chord K‐connections and four similarly sized T‐connections as control specimens, with the aim of establishing whether these cranked‐chord connections behave as conventional K‐connections or as T‐connections, or a combination of both. It is shown that cranked‐chord connections can be designed as overlapped K‐ (or N‐) connections using the current International Institute of Welding (IIW) recommendations, subject to their parameter limits of validity. An argument is also made for a slight relaxation of these limits of validity.