Investigation of rotation and shear behaviours of complex steel spherical hinged bearings subject to axial tensile load

Steel spherical hinged bearings have high loading capacity, reliable load transfer, flexible rotation with universal hinge and allowance of large displacement and rotation angle. However, bearings are in complex forced states subject to various load combinations, which lead to the significant influence on integral structural safety. Taking the large-tonnage complex steel spherical hinged bearings of Terminal 2 of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport as an example, full-scale rotation and shear behaviour tests of the bearings subject to axial tensile load are carried out, and the corresponding finite element simulation analyses are conducted. The results of experiments and finite element simulations are in good agreement with the coincident development tendency of stress and deformation. In addition, the measured rotational moment is less than the calculated moment prescriptive by the code, and the relationship between horizontal displacement and horizontal shear force is linear. Finally, based on these results, the rotation and shear stiffness models of bearings subject to axial tensile load are proposed for the refinement analysis of integral structure.