Plastic Collapse Loads of Cracked Square Hollow Section T-, Y-, and K-joints

Abstract

This paper concerns on the development of numerical models for cracked square hollow sections (SHSs) T-, Y-, and K-joints. Based on these numerical models, the plastic collapse loads Pc are calculated using nonlinear finite element method and through twice-elastic compliance criterion. It is found that the numerical plastic collapse loads Pc are slightly conservative compared with the ones calculated using formulae proposed by BS7910 [British Standards, 2005, “Guide on Methods for Assessing the Acceptability of Flaws in Metallic Structures,” BS 7910-Amendment 1] and are in close agreement with the experimental tests data. Therefore, the proposed numerical model is robust and it can be used to calculate the plastic collapse loads Pc of the cracked (SHS) T-, Y-, and K-joints.