Structural performance of steel pipe tee-junctions

Abstract

The behavior of steel pipe junctions (Tees) subjected to strong loading in the presence of internal pressure is examined in the present study. The analysis is based on a set of monotonic and cyclic out-of plane bending tests under constant and increasing amplitude displacement-controlled loading schemes leading to low-cycle fatigue failure. Rigorous finite element models are developed to support the experiments, accounting for detailed dimensional measurements and material testing results obtained prior to testing. A parametric analysis is also conducted focusing on the effect of the geometrical characteristics on the overall junction behavior. The performance of the Tee-junctions with varying geometries under out-of plane bending, in-plane bending and axial loading is also examined numerically accounting for the presence of internal pressure. Copyright © 2014 by ASME.