A proposal of practical method for analysis on stress concentration due to structural discontinuity of welded joints

It is very important to analyze accurately and practically the stress concentration factor due to structural discontinuity, Kts, in evaluation of fatigue strength at weld toes.In this paper, a practical method for analysis of Kts was proposed with the aid of finite element method using plate elements taking weld bead effect into account.As a result, concerning Kts of the plate with rib under uniform tension and bending, it was found that the calculated values using the proposed model of fine mesh agree with those using brick elements with an accuracy of ±10 percent. For five types of welded joints, the good agreement was obtained between calculated stress distribution and measured one near the weld toe.