Deformation measurements on full-scale fracture tests of pre-cracked tubular joints

A series of six static strength destructive tests were performed on full-scale pre-cracked tubular welded T-joints manufactured from a high strength weldable steel used in the construction of offshore Jack-Up platforms. All specimens had at least one through-thickness fatigue crack at the weld toe, from a previous fatigue-testing programme. The tests were aimed at analysing the residual static strength of the cracked members. As destructive tests are costly to perform, every effort was made to maximise the data collected. This included the use of a novel photogrammetric technique to provide three-dimensional measurement in real time of the deformation in the vicinity of the brace-chord intersection. The technique has been used for large-scale structural testing in a number of civil and aerospace applications, but to the author's knowledge this is the first time that it has been employed for the full-scale mechanical testing of large steel structures. This paper describes the details of the photogrammetric technique applied to the large steel specimens which were loaded to failure, resulting in the total separation of the intersecting members, It is hoped that the technique can be used to generate information which can be used in conjunction with finite element or other numerical analyses to increase the accuracy and reliability of modelling cracked tubular joints.