• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2014

In this study, non-load-carrying fillet welded joints fabricated using EH grade-steel are evaluated with the structural stress approach. The thickness effect was investigated by a study on welded steel joints with thickness ranging from 25 to 80mm. As-welded joint for main plate thickness of 25 to 80mm, the fatigue strength is reduced gradually. On the other hand, in case of main plate thickness of 25 to 80mm, the structural stress concentration factor increases gradually. As a result, for structural stress approach, thickness effect is not required for correction. Based on these results, a new evaluation fillet welded joint for fatigue design purposes has been proposed FAT 125.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.261-279
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• 2005

The hot spot stress approach is usually adopted in the fatigue design and analysis of tubular welded joints. To apply the hot spot stress approach for fatigue evaluation of long span suspension bridges, the FEM is used to determine the hot spot stress of critical fatigue location. Using the local finite element models of the Tsing Ma Bridge, typical joints are developed and the stress concentration factors are determined. As a case for study, the calculated stress concentration factor is combined with the nominal representative stress block cycle to obtain the representative hot spot stress range cycle block under traffic loading from online health monitoring system. A comparison is made between the nominal stress approach and the hot spot stress approach for fatigue life evaluation of the Tsing Ma Bridge. The comparison result shows that the nominal stress approach cannot consider the most critical stress of the fatigue damage location and the hot spot stress approach is more appropriate for fatigue evaluation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.277-284
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• 2006

In order to ensure the structural integrity of nuclear welded structures during design life, the fatigue life has to be evaluated by fatigue analysis procedures presented in technical codes such as ASME B&PV Code Section III. However, existing fatigue analysis procedures do not explicitly consider the presence of welded joints. A new fatigue analysis procedure based on a structural stress/fracture mechanics approach has been recently developed in order to reduce conservatism by erasing uncertainty in the analysis procedure. A recent review of fatigue crack growth data under various mean loading conditions using the structural stress/fracture mechanics approach, does not consider the mean loading effect, revealed some significant discrepancies in fatigue crack growth curves according to the mean loading conditions. In this paper, we propose the use of the stress intensity factor range ${\Delta}K$ characterized with loading ratio R effects in terms of the structural stress. We demonstrate the effectiveness in characterizing fatigue crack growth and S-N behavior using the well-known data. It was identified that the S-N data under high mean loading could be consolidated in a master S-N curve for welded joints.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.86-91
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• 2012

Fatigue tests and analyses were carried out to investigate fatigue strength and crack initiation point of load-carrying asymmetric double bevel cruciform welded joints. Mesh-insensitive structural stress approach was adopted to estimate high precise fatigue life and crack initiation point. Two different case material and weld shape were considered in this study. Results of fatigue tests and analyses were compared and discussed in consideration of applicability of structural stress approach as the reliable fatigue assessment method of cruciform welded joints.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.42 no.2 s.140
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• pp.129-135
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• 2005

At present, fatigue design of welded structures is primarily based on a nominal stress or hot spot stress approach with a series of classified weld S-N curves. Although well accepted by major industries, the nominal stress based fatigue design approach is cumbersome in terms of securing a series of S-N curves corresponding to each class of joint types and loading modes. The hot spot stress based fatigue design has a difficulty of finding a proper stress through the global model, the midium size model, and the detail model of ship structure. Also, it is difficult to link proper displacements within three different mesh size models. Recently, the structural stress is proposed as a mesh-size insensitive structural stress definition that gives a stress state at weld toe with relatively large mesh size. However, this method requires an experimental validation in obtaining the fatigue strength of weldments. Therefore, in this study, a series of experiment is performed for various sizes of weldments.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 2019

Structural integrity assessment of piping components is of paramount important for remaining life prediction, residual strength evaluation and for in-service inspection planning. For accurate prediction of these, a reliable fracture parameter is essential. One of the fracture parameters is stress intensity factor (SIF), which is generally preferred for high strength materials, can be evaluated by using linear elastic fracture mechanics principles. To employ available analytical and numerical procedures for fracture analysis of piping components, it takes considerable amount of time and effort. In view of this, an alternative approach to analytical and finite element analysis, a model based on relevance vector machine (RVM) is developed to predict SIF of part through crack of a piping component under fatigue loading. RVM is based on probabilistic approach and regression and it is established based on Bayesian formulation of a linear model with an appropriate prior that results in a sparse representation. Model for SIF prediction is developed by using MATLAB software wherein 70% of the data has been used for the development of RVM model and rest of the data is used for validation. The predicted SIF is found to be in good agreement with the corresponding analytical solution, and can be used for damage tolerant analysis of structural components.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.469-475
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• 2010

The objective of this study is to integrate reliability analysis into shape optimization problem using the evolutionary structural optimization (ESO) in the application example. Reliability-based shape optimization is formulated as volume minimization problem with probabilistic stress constraint under minimization max. von Mises stress and allow stress. Young's modulus, external load and thickness are considered as uncertain variables. In order to compute reliability index, four methods, i.e., reliability index approach (RIA), performance measure approach (PMA), single-loop singlevector (SLSV) and adaptive-loop (ADL), are used. Reliability-based shape optimization design process is conducted to obtain optimal shape satisfying max. von Mises stress and reliability index constraints with the above four methods, and then each result is compared with respect to numerical stability and computing time.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.396-398
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• 2005

At present, fatigue design of welded structures is primarily based on nominal stress or hot spot stress approach with a series of classified weld S-N curves. However, these methods are known to possess drawbacks, such as difficulty associated with defining proper nominal stress and the finite element sue sensitivity etc. Recently, a mesh-size insensitive structural stress definition is proposed by Battelle that gives a stress state at weld toe with relatively large mesh size. The structural stress definition is based on the elementary structural mechanics theory and provides an effective measure of a stress state in front of weld toe. As an experimental validation of the structural stress method in obtaining the fatigue strength of weldments, a series of experiment is carried out for various sizes of weldments. Based on the result from this study, it is expected to develop a more precise fatigue strength evaluation technique and to save time period required in the fatigue design of ship and offshore structures.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.367-382
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• 2015

This paper aims to conduct the reliability-based assessment of the welded joint in the orthotropic steel bridge deck by use of a mesh-insensitive structural stress (MISS) method, which is an effective numerical procedure to determine the reliable stress distribution adjacent to the weld toe. Both the solid element model and the shell element model are first established to investigate the sensitivity of the element size and the element type in calculating the structural stress under different loading scenarios. In order to achieve realistic condition assessment of the welded joint, the probabilistic approach based on the structural reliability theory is adopted to derive the reliability index and the failure probability by taking into account the uncertainties inherent in the material properties and load conditions. The limit state function is formulated in terms of the structural resistance of the material and the load effect which is described by the structural stress obtained by the MISS method. The reliability index is computed by use of the first-order reliability method (FORM), and compared with a target reliability index to facilitate the safety assessment. The results achieved from this study reveal that the calculation of the structural stress using the MISS method is insensitive to the element size and the element type, and the obtained structural stress results serve as a reliable basis for structural reliability analysis.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.843-853
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• 2022

The fatigue behavior of welded open rib-to crossbeam joints (ORCJ) in orthotropic bridge structures is investigated using a traction structural stress method. The fatigue behaviors of welded open rib-to crossbeam joints have been a subject of study for decades for ensuring operational safety and future design improvement. A mesh-insensitive combination of traction structural stresses in ORCJ was obtained considering the effect of in-plane shear stress and validated by fatigue test results. The proposed method is advantageous for predicting fatigue cracks that initiate from the crossbeam cutout and propagate along the crossbeam. The investigations carried out with the proposed approach reveal that the normal structural stress decreases with the propagation of fatigue cracks, while the ratio of shear stress to normal stress increases. The effect of shear structural stress is significant for the analysis of fatigue behavior of ORCJ in multiaxial stress states.