Punching shear failure of welded rectangular hollow section joints in aluminium

The strength and stability of aluminium structures are expected to be determined with formulas from the design standards for aluminium structures. In Europe, the latter are represented by Eurocode 9. In case structural components are made of hollow sections, widely used in the aluminium built environment, Eurocode 9 does not provide design rules for welded joints of such components. From research in the field of steel structures it is known that various failure mechanisms exist for hollow section joints. The punching shear failure mode has been investigated in this research by experimental and numerical research. The focus was on the capture of the instance of fracture in a finite element model and determination of the corresponding ultimate resistance. Structural engineers can use the design equation provided here in daily practice. The equation can also be considered for inclusion in Eurocode 9. This publication is the first one aiming at that goal.