Experimental study of hysteretic behavior of corroded steel with multi-angle welding joints

To rationally characterize the macroscopic behavior of in-service offshore structures affected by the coupled welding-corrosion action in steel components, the hysteretic behavior of corroded D36 marine structural steel with multi-angle welding joints is experimentally studied. To simulate possible corrosion-welding scenarios, the tested specimens are prepared with the gas arc welding (MAG) method for three welding angles and processed with the accelerated electrochemical corrosion for five corrosion degrees. The elasticity modulus, tensile strength, and elongation of welded-corroded steel is observed in the monotonic tensile test conducted before the cyclic test where the hysteretic performance and energy dissipation ability is mostly concerned. On the basis of these test results, a generalized hysteretic material model for welded-corroded steel which consists of a skeleton curve, an unloading curve and a reloading curve is proposed. All the parameters used to describe these curves are related to the degree of corrosion and welding angle, determined by the regression on the test data. The effectiveness of the proposed model is verified with the tested data, including those from the specimens additionally and specifically tested.