In-plane failure mechanism and stability bearing capacity design of planar plate-tube-connected circular steel arches.

This study investigates the failure mechanisms and strength of plate-tube-connected circular steel arches. The upper and lower chord of the arch are joined by a series of uniformly distributed steel plates in a radial direction. The chord of the arch mainly bears bending moment, shear force and axial force. The connecting plates mainly resist bending moment, so its failure mechanisms and strength design are different from the traditional truss arch with diagonal tubes and web-opening arches. In this paper, the finite element (FE) software ABAQUS is used to study the in-plane failure mechanism and stability bearing capacity of planar plate-tube-connected circular steel arches, which is subjected to full-span uniform radial load (FSURL), full-span uniform vertical load (FSUVL) and half-span uniform vertical load (HSUVL). The elastic buckling load formula of two-hinged plate-tube-connected circular steel arches is proposed under FSURL.. Also, the limited condition of avoiding local buckling is also proposed under FSURL. The stability bearing capacity design formula of the arch under FSURL is proposed. Studies have shown that under FSURL, the arch will be subjected to global elastoplastic failure, and the upper chord will exhibit a full-section yield at the scope of 1/4 L span and the lower chord will exhibit a full-section yield at the scope of 3/4 L span. Under F(H)SUVL, the global failure mode may occur. The global failure stability bearing capacity design formulas of the arch under FSUVL and HSUVL are also proposed. The FE results are in good agreement with these formulas. Finally, the design suggestions of plate-tube-connected circular steel arches are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]