Stress-Concentration Factors in Circular Hollow Section and Square Hollow Section T-Connections: Experiments, Finite-Element Analysis, and Formulas

Abstract

Nodal T-connections made up of circular hollow section (CHS) braces and square hollow section (SHS) chords (CHS-SHS T-connections) have the advantage that they do not require complex brace end preparation when compared with CHS-CHS T-connections. The stress-concentration factors (SCFs) in CHS-SHS T-connections have also been found to be lower than those in SHS-SHS T-connections by previous researchers. At present, no parametric equations have been developed for determination of SCFs for the design of CHS-SHS T-connections. In this investigation, eight CHS-SHS T-connections with unique nondimensional parameters were strain gauged for determination of strain-concentration factors (SNCFs) and therefore SCFs. A three-dimensional finite-element model was then developed using the