A Review of Fundamental Approaches for Fatigue Analysis of Welded Steel Joints

Abstract

Fatigue damage occurs in welded steel joints under cyclic loads. These joints are particularly vulnerable to fatigue due to high stress concentrations. Today, with the developing numerical analysis software, fatigue life calculations are carried out with different methods based on the fatigue life and the stresses that will occur in the elements. These methods, which may differ from each other, examine the stress distributions occurring under different loading conditions and the initiation, development and collapse of the damage occurring in the element. Fatigue analysis methods are divided into two groups as local and global approaches. In global methods, the critical stress that will occur on the entire structure is considered, while local geometry and local parameters are examined in local methods. This study presents fatigue analysis methods of welded steel joints.