Increased accuracy of calculated fatigue resistance of welds through consideration of the statistical size effect within the notch stress concept

The notch stress concept has been established for fatigue life calculations of welded components. One of its advantages is that the S - N curve is not based on an S - N curve catalog in which the user has to identify a suitable FAT class; instead, a single S - N curve (based on modeling, failure location, and material) is used for different weld geometries. In return, however, the weld needs to be modeled in a detailed manner for finite element...