Stability of single-layer reticulated shells with AAG joints: Fid-Bau Portal

Stability of single-layer reticulated shells with AAG joints

Liu, Hongbo / Zang, Qian / Chen, Zhihua

Abstract Due to the advantages of light weight, high strength and corrosion resistance, aluminum alloys have been widely used in large-span space structures, and the application form is mainly single-layer reticulated shells. Considering the non-negligible stability problems of single-layer reticulated shells, this paper starts the stability research with the idea of ”member to structure”. By establishing refined numerical models of single-layer reticulated shell with aluminum alloy gusset (AAG) joints, the effective length factor of members and the overall structural stability considering the failure of the gusset joints are carried out. The main conclusions are as follows:(1) The in-plane and out-of-plane effective length factor of members of the aluminum alloy single-layer reticulated shell with gusset joints are recommended to be 1.0 and 1.9 respectively;(2) The stable bearing capacity ratio of rigid reticulated shell, semi-rigid shell, and semi-rigid reticulated shell considering joint failure is about 1:0.9:0.72. The research results of this paper provide a basis for the stable design and specification of aluminum alloy single-layer reticulated shell structures.

Highlights • Aluminum alloy single-layer reticulated shell structure with gusset joints. • The performance of aluminum alloy gusset (AAG) joint affects the structural stability. • The joint type affects effective length factor of members. • Aluminum alloy spatial structure has broad application prospects.