Research on Mechanical Behaviours of New Joints of Single-Layer Reticulated Shells

A new kind of welded end-plate joint for a reticulated shell with a rectangular cross-section rod was proposed. To investigate the mechanical behaviour of the proposed joint, a test model at a scale of 1∶2 was designed and subjected to static loading tests. Load-strain curves, load-displacement curves, and failure modes were obtained, showing the joint’s performance to be low stresses at a reasonable level of detail. After validating the results of numerical models, the effect of the ratio of end-plate thickness (t₁) to tube thickness (t₂), the angle between the tubes α and the out-of-plane angle β on distortion of the joint, failure mode, and strain distribution were analysed. The results showed that the joint possessed a good load-bearing capacity; the angle α has a significant impact on this index, with 60° being a critical point. On the basis of the finite element analysis results, a formula that could provide a reference for design work was introduced for calculating the bearing capacity of the joint.