Finite Element Analysis of Elliptical Chord: Tubular T-Joints

The work presents the Finite element study of the effect of elliptical chords on the static and dynamic strength of tubular T-joints using ANSYS. Two different geometry configurations of the T-joints have been used, namely Type-1 and Type-2. An elastic analysis has been considered. The Static loading conditions used are: axial load, compressive load, In-plane bending (IPB) and Out-plane bending (OPB). The natural frequencies analysis (dynamic loading condition) has also been carried out. The geometry configurations of the T-joints have been used, vertical tubes are called brace and horizontal tubes are called chords. The joint consists of brace joined perpendicular to the circular chord. In this case the ends of the chord are held fixed. The material used is mild steel. Using ANSYS, finite element modeling and analysis of T-joint has been done under the aforementioned loading cases. It is one of the most powerful methods in use but in many cases it is an expensive analysis especially due to elastic-plastic and creep problems. Usually, three dimensional solid elements or shell elements or the combination of two types of elements are used for generating the tubular joints mesh. In tubular joints, usually the fluid induced vibrations cause the joint to fail under resonance. Therefore the natural frequencies analysis is also an important issue here. Generally the empirical results are required as guide or comparison tool for finite element investigation. It is an effective way to obtain confidence in the results derived. Shell elements have been used to model the assembled geometry. Finite element ANSYS results have been validated with the LUSAS FEA and experimental results, that is within the experimentation error limit of ten percentage.