The tree-like structure is a branch of space bionic structures,belonging to the Bionic Architectural Structures. Cast-steel joints with branches are the keys to build the tree-like structures.They are used widely,and the most common joints in our projects are cast-steel joints with two、three and four branches. The cast-steel joints with two branches are planar,while the joints with three and four branches are spatial.Until now,the basic theoretical researches about the cast-steel joints with branches are also relatively scarce.This paper did researches about mechanical properties, calculation methods and structural optimization of the cast-steel joints with three branches deeply and systematically. The result shows that the bending moment has a big influence on the value of the max stress. And the three main failure modes of the cast-steel joint with three branches are yield of the main tubular along the axial direction, local buckling at the connection of the main tubular and branches, and the tearing out of the branches.
