Aluminum alloys have been widely used for structures in environments subject to corrosion. However, aluminum alloys have lower elastic modulus as compared to steels, and are more sensitive to low-cycle fatigue failure. This study performed low-cycle fatigue experiments of aluminum alloy gusset joints. A damage-coupled cyclic plastic constitutive model of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy was established based on continuum damage mechanics. Numerical simulations of the joints and a latticed shell were carried out incorporating the constitutive model. Low-cycle fatigue life of the joints and the latticed shell structure were estimated based on damage distribution calculated by the simulations.
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