FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSES OF LOADING CAPACITY OF FILLET-WELD CONNECTIONS FABRICATED FROM DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL

In order to investigate the loading capacity of fillet-weld connections fabricated from duplex stainless steel grade S22053, material tests were conducted on round bar specimen made from the base material and the corresponding weld metal. Tensile tests were conducted on transverse fillet-weld connections and longitudinal fillet-weld connections, the ultimate load capacity of the welded connections were tested, and the deformation developments with the load increment was measured as well. The nonlinear finite element analysis of the stainless steel-weld connections subjected to uniaxial tensile forces were performed by finite element software ANSYS, and the computational results were compared with test data. The comparison indicated that the finite element model using the true stress-stain curves and considering the differences of constitutive relationship between base metal and weld metal could simulate the uniaxial tensile tests effectively. Finally, parametric analysis was carried out on parameters which could influence the bearing behavior of stainless steel-weld connections, and the simulation results were compared with the design value calculated according to European steel structures (Eurocode 3), American stainless steel code (SEI/ASCE 8-02), and Technical specification for stainless steel structures (CECS 410:2015) respectively. The ratios of simulated value to design value were obtained, so as to provide a reference for the improvement and engineering application of stainless steel design code.