lancer360
Marine/Ocean
- Feb 6, 2007
- 29
I have the rare opportunity to test a couple of old a-frames to failure. These are old a-frames that have been inspected and determined to be unfit for refurbishment due to a combination of weld cracks and corrosion. I have been asked to predict the theoretical failure load of these two a-frames when they were new. I primarily use Visual Analysis to check the overall design using AISC code checks combined with some hand calcs and every once in a while Ansys for potential problem areas. How much "extra" is left between a unity of "1" and theoretical failure? Does it vary depending on the particular AISC equation used, or are they fairly consistent? The cross member is loaded primarily in bending and the legs are a combination of bending and compression.
After the units fail we are going to send some of the material off for testing to get an accurate yield strength of the material that failed and use that info to adjust the model and see how close our models are.
After the units fail we are going to send some of the material off for testing to get an accurate yield strength of the material that failed and use that info to adjust the model and see how close our models are.