Effect of geometrical parameters on SCF distribution along the weld toe of tubular KT-joints under balanced axial loads

In this paper, the effect of normalized geometrical parameters of tau, gamma, beta and zeta, and brace-to-chord inclination angle theta on the distribution of stress concentration factors (SCFs) along the weld toe of tubular KT-joints under the balanced axial loads is studied. Thereafter, a parametric equation is proposed for determining the distribution of SCFs along the 360 degrees spatial curve of weld toe. The proposed equation satisfies the acceptance criteria recommended by UK Department of Energy, and consequently can reliably be used for design purposes. This is the first research proposing a parametric equation for predicting the SCF distribution along the brace-chord intersection of KT-joints. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.