Experimental Study on Bearing Capacity of Reinforced Steel Tubular Scaffold under Uniform Loads

Five groups of tests were designed to analyze the influence of node types (fastener connection and mortise-and-tenon joint) and reinforcement modes of top horizontal cross rods (weak truss and stiffening truss) on the bearing capacity of the steel tubular scaffold under vertical uniform loads. Loading phenomenon, bearing capacity, failure mode, displacement at key positions, and strain development characteristics during tests were analyzed. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) The fastener scaffold reinforced by a top truss showed the highest bearing capacity and high material utilization. (2) The fastener scaffold reinforced by a top weak truss increased the bearing capacity and caused coordinated deformation of the top horizontal force rods. (3) The node displacement of the mortise-and-tenon scaffold was smaller than that of the fastener joint, whereas its bearing capacity was higher. (4) Vertical diagonal bracing can slightly increase the bearing capacity of the mortise-and-tenon scaffold but can also constrain the deformation of the vertical rods and change the failure mode.

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