Aluminium in infrastructures

handrail. This paper demonstrates that aluminium alloys are in principle also suited for heavy loaded structures, such as decks of traffic bridges and helicopter landing platforms. Recent developments in fatigue research is discussed and future research, required for full application of aluminium in heavy loaded structures is identified. The...

Structural response of aluminium T-stub connections at elevated temperatures and fire

Many aluminium structures contain welded and bolted connections that are modeled as one or more equivalent T-stubs – also referred to as tension zone components – for the structural assessment. Knowledge on the structural behavior of such T-stubs is thus essential for proper designs. However, this behavior has never been checked for fire...

The origin of weld seam defects related to metal flow in the hot extrusion of aluminium alloys en AW-6060 and en AW-6082

Longitudinal weld seams are an intrinsic feature in hollow extrusions produced with porthole dies. As these joins occur along the entire extruded length, it is desirable that these weld seams have a minimal impact on the structural integrity of the extrudate. In particular, defects associated with weld seam formation should be avoided. In this...

Warm deep-drawing and post drawing analysis of two Al-Mg-Si alloys

The increasing use of aluminium alloys in light weight structural applications is restricted mainly due to their lower room temperature formability compared to steels. Forming at higher temperature is seen as a promising solution to this problem. In the present investigation two Al-Mg-Si alloys (EN AW-6016 and EN AW-6061) were deep-drawn at room...

Towards predictive control of extrusion weld seams: An integrated approach

Longitudinal weld seams are an intrinsic feature in hollow extrusions produced with porthole dies. The formation of longitudinal weld seams is a solid bonding process, controlled by the local conditions in the extrusion die. Being the weakest areas within the extrusion cross section, it is desirable to achieve adequate properties of these weld...

Flexural buckling of fire exposed aluminium columns

In order to study buckling of fire exposed aluminium columns, a finite element model is developed. The results of this model are verified with experiments. Based on a parametric study with the finite element model, it is concluded that the simple calculation model for flexural buckling of fire exposed aluminium columns in EN 1999-1-2 does not...

Local buckling of aluminium structures exposed to fire. Part 2: Finite element models

A test series was carried out and reported in a corresponding paper on slender aluminium alloy sections, loaded in compression at elevated temperature. This paper gives the results of simulations of these tests with a finite element model. For this purpose, a novel constitutive model for fire exposed aluminium alloys is used. The critical...

Local buckling of aluminium structures exposed to fire. Part 1: Tests

This paper describes an experimental investigation into local buckling of compressed aluminium alloy sections at elevated temperatures. Stress-strain relationships are derived based on uniaxial tensile tests. A special test set-up with a furnace is developed to test slender square hollow sections and angular sections in compression. The results...