Hot Spot Stresses of Tubular Joints Subjected to Combined Loadings

Abstract

An approach has been proposed to verify, and modify if necessary, the conventional method for determining the peak hot spot stresses of various configurations of tubular joints subjected to combined loadings. To illustrate the proposed approaches, three different sizes of TK square‐to‐round tubular joints were subjected to five basic load types (two axial loadings, two in‐plane bendings, and one out‐of‐plane bending) and six combinations of the basic load types. The accuracy of the peak hot spot stresses estimated by the conventional method for combined loadings were found to be closely related to the types of loading condition involved. This relation is due to the possible change in peak stress locations when various basic load types are combined. The peak hot spot stresses of some combined loadings are significantly overestimated by the conventional method and can be reduced to provide accurate data for fatigue analysis.