Study on Flexural Performance of Aluminum Alloy Gusset Joints Subjected to Bending Moment and Shear Force

Aluminum alloy gusset (AAG) joints are widely applied in space reticulated shell structures. To investigate the flexural performance of AAG joints under the combined action of shear force and in-plane and out-of-plane bending moments, this analysis was developed by means of finite element (FE) models implemented in the non-linear code ABAQUS, and the accuracy of the FE simulation results based on the existing AAG joint test results was verified. The FE simulation results effectively described the mechanical properties of the AAG joints, including the failure mode, deformation process and bending moment-rotation curves. Furthermore, a parametric study was conducted by varying the height of the member section, the number of bolts, the radius of the joint plate, the thickness of the joint plate, the bolt preload force, and the ratio of in-plane to out-of-plane bending moments. It was found that these parameters had different effects on the bending behavior of the AAG joints.