Resistance of circular hollow section branch plate joints made from high strength steel

This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the resistance of branch plate joints to a high-strength steel circular hollow section chord member subjected to axial compression with chord face plastification failure mode. The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of increased yield strength on joint behaviour and resistance. An experimental programme was conducted on ten specimens fabricated from S700 steel with longitudinally and transversely welded plates. •The load-bearing capacity of high-strength steel joints decreases with increasing slenderness of the chord.•HSS hollow section joints have relatively lower resistance than the corresponding conventional steel grade joints.•The FEA design shell models will allow a more accurate prediction of bearing capacity.