EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON STAINLESS-CLAD BIMETALLIC STEEL WELDED TUBULAR T-JOINTS

Stainless-clad (SC) bimetallic steel is a high-performance steel with low cost, high strength and excellent corrosion resistance, especially competitive in engineering structural applications where high corrosion resistance is required. This paper aims to investigate the structural behaviour of SC bimetallic steel welded tubular T-joint under static axial compression and low-cycle reciprocating loads through experiments. Four welded T-joints were designed, fabricated and tested herein, and the testing process, failure mode, load-displacement curves and strain development of each specimen were analyzed. The bearing capacity was then calculated in accordance with both Chinese standard GB 50017 and European standard EN 1993-1-8, and the experimental values were compared with calculated values to assess performance. The research showed that when the brace was subjected to axial pressure, the specimens mainly failed with local chord plastification; when the brace was subjected to cyclic loading, the specimen failed with plastic deformation of the upper flange of chord and a fracture in the welded brace/chord junctions; when the failure mode of the T-joint complied with the current standards GB 50017 and EN 1993-1-8, the bearing capacity formula could still be applied to the design of SC bimetallic steel welded T-joint.