Fracture mechanics and fatigue life assessment of box-shaped welded structures: FEM analysis and parametric design

In this study, Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) approach is used to evaluate the fatigue strength of a box-shaped welded structure. A parametric study is also undertaken to study the effect of various weld parameters on the fatigue strength, such as lack of weld metal penetration, load position, and plate thicknesses. FRANC3D software was adopted to obtain the stress intensity factor values for two types of full-length and intermediate...