Numerical simulations of fatigue crack initiation and propagation based on re-tensile plastic zone generating load criterion for in-plane gusset welded joints

Many accidents are caused by fatigue in welded built-up steel structures, and so it is important to estimate the fatigue lives of such structures quantitatively for safety reasons. By assuming that fatigue cracks cannot grow without an accumulation of alternating tensile/compressional plastic strain...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marine science and technology 2009-03, Vol.14 (1), p.104-114
Main Authors: Nagata, Yukinobu, Gotoh, Koji, Toyosada, Masahiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Automotive Engineering
Computer simulation
Crack initiation
Crack propagation
Driving ability
Engineering
Engineering Design
Engineering Fluid Dynamics
Estimates
Fatigue failure
Fracture mechanics
Marine
Materials fatigue
Mathematical models
Mechanical Engineering
Offshore Engineering
Original Article
Plastics
Shipbuilding
Simulation
Welded joints
Welding
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Many accidents are caused by fatigue in welded built-up steel structures, and so it is important to estimate the fatigue lives of such structures quantitatively for safety reasons. By assuming that fatigue cracks cannot grow without an accumulation of alternating tensile/compressional plastic strain, one of the authors identified an improved effective stress intensity factor range Δ K RPG based on the re-tensile plastic zone generating (RPG) load, which represents the driving force for fatigue cracks, and suggested that Δ K RPG should be used as the parameter to describe fatigue crack growth behavior. The “FLARP” numerical simulation code in which Δ K RPG is implemented as the fatigue crack growth parameter, was developed in order to predict fatigue crack initiation and propagation behavior. In this paper, it is demonstrated that FLARP gives accurate estimates for fatigue life by comparing the estimated fatigue crack growth curves and S – N curves with the experimental results for in-plane gusset welded joints, which are used in many welded steel structures. Moreover, the effect of induced bending moment due to the linear misalignment in the out of plane direction on the fatigue strength of in-plane gusset welded joints is investigated through numerical simulations.
ISSN:0948-4280
1437-8213
DOI:10.1007/s00773-009-0044-7