Graff, William J.2022-10-282022-10-28197013825323https://hdl.handle.net/10657/12423Offshore oil drilling and production activities have occasioned rapid advances in the design of fixed structures fabricated from tubular members. An integral part of these so-called offshore platforms is the welded tubular connection, the structural joint between intersecting tubes. Theoretical analysis of tubular connections is very difficult because of localized bending of the chord (continuous member) and brace (discontinuous member). Thus, stress distributions in tubular connections have been determined by strain gage analysis obtained from steel models. This thesis is the first reported investigation of stress distributions of tubular connections performed by three-dimensional photoelasticity. The first portion of the thesis is devoted to (1) developing a suitable amine cured epoxy resin from which the connection components were cast, (2) machining the model components to finished dimensions, (3) assembling the models, and (4) stress-freezing the completed models. Each of these activities is discussed in detail and recommended practices set forth. [...]application/pdfenThis item is protected by copyright but is made available here under a claim of fair use (17 U.S.C. Section 107) for non-profit research and educational purposes. Users of this work assume the responsibility for determining copyright status prior to reusing, publishing, or reproducing this item for purposes other than what is allowed by fair use or other copyright exemptions. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires express permission of the copyright holder.Thesisreformatted digital