Experimental and numerical study of mechanical behavior of welded steel plate joints

This paper describes a study of welded steel plate joints using experimental and numerical methods. The objectives of this study are to observe the mechanical behavior of welded plate joints under monotonic and cyclic loads, identify their damage degradation processes, and provide useful test data for future damage analysis of beam-column connections in steel frame structures. Six specimens were designed, of which three were tested under monotonic loads, and the other three were tested under cyclic loads. The test setup consisted of three plates arranged in a cruciform and connected by two groove welds. The monotonic and cyclic loads were applied to the free end of the two outstanding plates, inducing a pulling force on the welded joint. Because the only element studied in the present work is the weld, the sizes of the three plates were kept constant. The responses of these welded plate joints are discussed in terms of their experimentally and numerically obtained mechanical parameters, hysteretic behavior, strain variations, stiffness degradation, damage process, and failure modes. The results show that the energy damage model outperforms the displacement damage model in terms of indicating the degree of damage. Furthermore, if designed according to code, all these welded plate joints perform satisfactorily.