Bending capacity of corroded welded hollow spherical joints

Welded hollow spherical joints (WHSJ) have been widely used in space lattice structures. Corrosion is inevitable in the service life of WHSJ, which significantly reduces their bending capacity and seriously threatens their structural safety. This study aims to investigate the influence of corrosion that occurred at different places on the bending stiffness and bending capacity of WHSJ. The effects of corroded location and size, corroded thickness, and diameter and thickness of spherical body were investigated through a series of nonlinear numerical analyses. Two types of corroded shape were investigated. The equation used for predicting the residual bending stiffness of corroded WHSJ was established. Results indicated that corrosions in different places had distinct influence on the bending capacity of WHSJ. Loading capacity could be significantly reduced when corrosion occurred at other areas. The derived results would provide a foundation for estimating the residual bending stiffness and strength of structures connected by corroded WHSJ.