ABSTRACT
The extension of the component method, recommended in Eurocode 3 and 4 for steel and composite joints between H or I profiles, to the design of steel joints in tubular construction has been already discussed in a paper presented at the 9th ISTS in Düsseldorf in 2001. In the meantime further investigations have been undertaken in order to develop rules for specific components. Some have been presented at the 10th ISTS in Madrid in 2003; others have been derived in various CIDECT research projects. Furthermore existing rules published in the CIDECT Design Guides and in EN 1993 Part 1.8 have been “converted” into a component format. As a result of these works, this paper presents a survey on the application of the component method to “tubular” joints and a first practical implementation of the component method by referring to so-called “design sheets” particularly useful for the day-to-day design.
