Abstract
This paper presents an experimental investigation of longitudinally welded aluminum alloy I-section columns subjected to pure axial compression. The specimens were fabricated using 6061-T6 heat-treated aluminum alloy. The test program included 20 column tests which were separated into 2 test series of different types of welding sections. Each test series contained 10 columns. All the specimens were welded using the Tungsten Inert Gas welding method. The length of the specimens ranged from 442 to 2433 mm in order to obtain a column curve for each test series. The observed failure mode for the column tests includes mainly flexural buckling around the minor axis and the major axis by applying support except for one column (ZP1217-1) which buckled in the local zone and some columns which failed in the weld. The test strengths were compared with the design strengths predicted by the European Code and China Code for aluminum structures. The purpose of this paper is to present the tests results of two typically longitudinally welded I-section columns, and to check the accuracy of the design rules in the current specifications.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A A. Aluminum design manual. Washington (DC): The Aluminum Association, 2005
BS 8118: Part 1: British Standards: Structural use of aluminium-Part 1: Code of practice for design, BSI Standards, London, 1991
BS EN 1999-1-1:2007, Eurocode 9: Design of aluminium structures-Part 1-1: General structural rules, European Committee for Standardization, Brussels, 2007
Xin J. Study on Resistance of Uniaxial Symmetrical Aluminum Alloy Compression Members. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Shanghai: Tongji University, 2005 (in Chinese)
Wu Y G. Study on Local Buckling of Aluminium Elements And Flexural-Torsional Buckling of Aluminium Beams. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Shanghai: Tongji University, 2006 (in Chinese)
Zhang Z. Study on Stability Capacity of Aluminium Beam-Columns. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Shanghai: Tongji University, 2006 (in Chinese)
Guo X N. Theoretical and Experimental Research on Aluminum Alloy Structure Members. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Shanghai: Tongji University, 2006 (in Chinese)
GB2651-89. Method of tensile test for welded joint, 1989 (in Chinese)
GB/T 4340-1999. Metallic vickers hardness test, 1999 (in Chinese)
GB 2649-89. Methods of sampling for mechanical properties tests of welded joint, 1989 (in Chinese)
GB2652-89. Methods of tensile tests for weld and deposited metal, 1989 (in Chinese)
Ramberg W, Osgood W R. Description of stress-strain curves by three parameters, NACA Techn No902, 1943
Brungraber R J, Clark JW. Strength of welded aluminium columns. Transaction of ASCE, 1962, 127(2): 202–225
GB50429-2007. Code for design of aluminium structures, 2007 (in Chinese)
Mazzolani F M. Aluminium alloy structures (2nd edition). London: E&Fn Spon, 1995
Wu Y, Zhang Q L. Experimental study on residual stresses of welded aluminium members. Steel Structure, 2007, 22(92): 29–32
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wu, Y., Zhang, Q. Experimental investigation and design of aluminum columns with longitudinal welds. Front. Archit. Civ. Eng. China 5, 366–373 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11709-011-0101-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11709-011-0101-2