A study on slotted square and rectangular hollow structural section connections

Parametric finite element study on slotted rectangular and square HSS tension connections

“…As shown in the figure, the part of the HSS wall at the end of the gusset plate was modelled with a two-layer of solid elements while the rest of the HSS and the gusset plate were modelled with shell elements. No significant difference was found by Zhao [8] in results of finite element analyses for slotted HSS with no end welding by changing the model from two layers to four layers of solid elements. Since both high stress concentration and failure can occur at the slotted end, the solid element was employed only in this area to capture these localized effects.…”

“…Numerous tests on rectangular (RHS) and square (SHS) slotted HSS tension members have been carried out by Zhao and Hancock [3], Korol [4], Zhao et al [5], Wilkinson et al [6], Huang [7] and Zhao [8]. All specimens tested by Zhao …”

“…Test data from Huang [7] and Zhao [8] were used extensively in the development and validation of the finite element model for the parametric study. Thus, a brief description of these two test programs is provided.…”

“…Square and rectangular slotted HSS tension specimens with and without end welding were tested by Huang [7] and Zhao [8] respectively. Sections used in these test programs consisted of ASTM-A500 Grade C HSS 89 × 89 × 4.8 and HSS 127 × 51 × 4.8, cold-formed non-stress relieved tubular sections.…”

“…Taking the medium of this range, the ε p c limit of 0.9 was selected to represent all materials in the numerical simulation. Zhao [8] has found that there is no significant difference in the predicted maximum load for a slotted HSS with no end weld using a ε p c limit of 0.8 to 1.0. In Table 2 for the coupon from the HSS corner, the average measured ln(A o /A fmid ) was found to be around 0.5.…”