Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

www.elsevier.com/locate/engfracmech

A parametric fracture mechanics study of welded joints

with toe cracks and lack of penetration
a,*
Timo Nykanen , Xiaoyan Li b, Timo Bjork a, Gary Marquis a

a
Laboratory of Steel Structures and Strength of Materials, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FIN-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland
b
Visiting Researcher from Beijing University of Technology, 100 Ping Le Yuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022, PR China

Received 9 September 2003; received in revised form 24 August 2004; accepted 22 November 2004
Available online 21 January 2005

Abstract

The existing design rules give quite general guidelines to the fatigue assessment of dierent types of welded joints.
The goal of this investigation was to give designers some tools, which would allow more precise assessment of the eect
of dimensional variations on the fatigue strength. Therefore the fatigue behaviour of 12 common types of welded joints
has been studied parametrically. Two-dimensional (2D) nite element models of the joint were made and evaluated
using plane strain linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) calculations. The as-welded condition was assumed with
the result that no crack initiation period was considered and stress ranges were fully eective. A maximum tangential
stress criterion with the Paris crack growth law was used to predict the growth rate and direction of root and toe cracks
under mixed mode KIKII conditions. The eects of weld size and joint dimension ratios on the fatigue strength were
systematically studied. In addition to tensile loading, bending and combined tension/bending moment loading in both
directions are examined for positive and negative mean stress.

2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Steels; Fracture mechanics; Fatigue crack growth; Welded joints; Fatigue strength

1. Introduction

In current industrial practice, welds and welded joints are an integral part of many complex load-carry-
ing structures. Unfortunately, welds are often the weakest portions of these structures and their quality di-
rectly aects the integrity of the structure. Fatigue strength is believed to have a close relation to the precise

*
Corresponding author. Fax: +358 5 621 2499.
E-mail address: timo.nykanen@lut. (T. Nykanen).

0013-7944/$ - see front matter
2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engfracmech.2004.11.004
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1581

geometrical discontinuity of the welded joint. Welding imperfections that may be introduced during fabri-
cation are only partially considered in the conventional fatigue design rules for welded joints that are based
primarily on SN curves. In most cases the SN curves are based on laboratory tests of normal quality
welds, even though the precise denition of normal quality is the subject of some debate. There is a clear
need to better understand the fatigue behaviour of welded joints with consideration of the geometrical fac-
tors that produce locally high stresses. The ultimate goal to produce welds of suitable strength at reasonable
cost.
The existence of crack-like imperfections in the welded joint is normally considered to eliminate the so-
called crack initiation stage of fatigue life. Therefore, the emphasis of the fatigue assessment could be fo-
cused on the crack growth stage of the fatigue life in some conditions.
In a wide variety of cases crack growth problems can be solved within the frame of linear elastic frac-
ture mechanics (LEFM). This is the case when the yield zone at the crack tip is small with respect to
both the crack size and the remaining ligament. By characterizing subcritical crack growth using the
concept such as stress intensity factor K, it is possible to predict crack growth rate of a weld under cyc-
lic loading, and hence the number of cycles necessary for a crack to extend from some initial size, i.e.
the size of pre-existing crack or crack-like defects, to a maximum permissible size to avoid catastrophic
failures.
This work is concerned with the fatigue behaviour of 12 common types of welded joints in as-welded
condition. In as-welded condition the fatigue crack initiation period is considered non-existent and LEFM
was used to calculate fatigue strength for a range of geometries and loading conditions. In particular, the
study considered the curved crack growth path of toe and root cracks. By systematically altering weld
throat size, joint geometry, degree of penetration, and the type loading, parametric relationships between
these dierent factors could be formulated.
In most cases, both the weld toe and the weld root were considered as potential critical crack initiation
sites. The direction of crack growth depends on the type of loading and on the dimensions of the joint. In
this study the crack path was not pre-selected, but crack direction was allowed to change according to the
maximum tangential stress criterion. For toe cracks initially perpendicular to the plates, an initial crack
length ai of 0.2 mm was assumed. This length is typical when arc welding is used. The root crack was varied
depending on the degree of penetration.

2. Models and methods

Numerous nite element analyses were performed for each joint type in order to study the eect of geo-
metric variables parametrically. When appropriate, joint dimension ratios, weld ank angle, weld size and
the degree of weld penetration were altered and eight dierent cyclic loading combinations of tension and
bending were applied at the end of the main plate. For some joint types this required more than 1000 dif-
ferent FE analyses. Geometric and loading variations are provided in Section 3 of this paper with the
description of each joint type. Gap elements were not used.
In engineering structures, the joints are elements of a complex structure having boundary conditions that
may vary from those used in this analysis. Because the boundary conditions aect the results, joints were
usually modelled as restrained so that the cracks propagated under force control. This is considered to pro-
vide conservative solutions.
The nominal stress range was both zero to maximum and zero to minimum. The nominal stress gradient
through the main plate thickness is reported in terms of the degree of bending (DOB) where the DOB is
dened as Drb/(jDrmj + jDrbj). Here Drb is the nominal bending stress range and Drm is the membrane
stress range in the main plate. DOB values of
1,
1/2, 0, 1/2 and 1 were used. Independent crack growth
at the weld toe and weld root was assumed.
1582 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

2.1. Crack growth simulation

The nite element crack growth simulation program FRANC2D/L by James and Swenson [1] was used
in the analysis. The opening mode and sliding mode stress intensity factors KI and KII were calculated using
the J-integral approach by Dodds and Vargas [2]. The inuence of KI and KII on fatigue crack growth is
based on the maximum tangential stress criterion [3]. This criterion assumes that the predicted propagation
path of the fatigue crack is perpendicular to the maximum principal stress and the crack grows under open-
ing mode.

2.2. Calculation of fatigue life

In order to predict fatigue crack propagation, several equations were proposed by dierent researchers,
usually semi- or wholly-empirical, to correlate fatigue crack growth rate data with the range of the single
parameter DK, the range of stress intensity factor. Among the proposed equations, the ParisErdogan rela-
tionship is commonly accepted and used in practice for a wide range of mode I crack growth rates.
Paris law [4] for the crack growth rate is
da
CDK m 1
dN
where da/dN is the crack growth rate per cycle, C and m are material constants, and DK is the range of the
stress intensity factor for the opening mode. Eq. (1) is also recommended by the International Institute of
Welding (IIW) [5] for calculating the fatigue crack propagation rate of welded joints made of steel or alu-
minium. The Paris law constants m = 3, Cchar = 3 10
13, and Cmean = 1.7 10
13 (da/dN in mm/cycle and
DK in N mm
3/2) are recommended by IIW [5] for the assessment of ferritepearlite steel welded joints in
as-welded condition and are used in this study. Cmean is considered to be the mean fatigue crack growth rate
coecient and Cchar is the characteristic value corresponding to 95% survival probability value. The thresh-
old value of the stress intensity factor was not used in this study. Using relative crack length per plate thick-
ness value, a/t, instead of a and integrating Eq. (1) produces
Z atf
a Z atf 1  r

a
m
a
1
m
N a  DK  t  d a  Y  Dr p  t  td
t
i C t t
i C t t
Dr
m  I m I
m
1 ) N  Dr m 2
Ct 2 C  t 2
1
where ai and af are the initial and nal crack lengths and Y is the stress intensity geometry function. The
value of the crack growth integral, I, depends on the geometry of the cracked body, ai and af. During
numerical integration of Eq. (1), which is carried out automatically by the FRANC2D/L program during
the crack growth simulation, the nal crack length af was reached when the increase in fatigue life was
negligible.

2.3. Mean fatigue strength

The fatigue strength of a welded joint is normally characterised by its fatigue, FAT, class, which iden-
ties the range of stress corresponding to 2 106 cycles to failure with a 95% survival probability [5]. Ini-
tially, several joint geometry models were evaluated with the help of the FRANC2D simulation program at
a given stress range, Dr. The propagation lives for these models was averaged and the stress range
Dr = jDrmj + jDrbj was then adjusted according to Eq. (2) so as to give the stress range corresponding
to average fatigue life of two million cycles, Drmean.
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1583

2.4. Theoretical fatigue class

Using the values, Drmean, and Cchar = 3 10
13, the theoretical fatigue class (FAT) for each joint type
analysed can be determined. From Eq. (2), we can obtain the following expression for FAT:
r
3 C mean
FAT Drchar Drmean 0:8275xDrmean 3
C char

2.5. Thickness eect

The main causes of the thickness eect for the fatigue of welded structures are the technological eect,
the statistical eect and the stress gradient eect. For good welding practice the statistical and stress gra-
dient eects are the main factors inuencing size eects in welded joints [7]. From a fracture mechanics
point of view the stress gradient eect can be understood because a crack at the surface of a thick plate will
grow for a greater distance at a higher stress level as compared to a crack of the same length in a thin plate
for the same surface stress. Thus, the thinner specimen will have a longer fatigue life. The thickness correc-
tion factor for welded joints is often expressed as [8]
 m1
12  n
Dr t t
4
Drref tref tref
In this equation Drref is the reference fatigue strength value for the reference plate thickness tref or the ref-
erence fatigue strength value for some characteristic joint dimension.
For proportionally scaled joints, i.e., when the crack is scaled in the same proportion as the other dimen-
sions, Eq. (2) shows that the geometrical thickness eect exponent in Eq. (4) is n =
1/6 for m = 3. This
value is usefully when evaluating root cracks that are often proportional to the joint size.
When scaling the joints proportionally and keeping the initial crack depth at the weld toe constant, i.e.,
ai = 0.2 mm, the exponent, n, is no longer constant. The geometrical thickness eect is dependent on the
DOB and the dimension ratios [9,10]. On the basis of experimental results, a general thickness correction
of n =
1/3 is proposed by Orjasater [7]. The value of n depends on the severity of the stress concentration
of the joint. For the joints with severe stress concentration like tubular joints in plane bending the exponent
is changed to n =
0.4 [7]. If no calculated or test data are available, the use of the commonly used fourth
root rule thickness correction formula, where n equals to
1/4 or the use of more conservative value of
n =
1/3 when tref = 25 mm might be justiable.
Eqs. (2) and (3) can be used to estimate theoretical upper and lower-bond solutions for the thickness
exponent for non-proportionally scaled joints, i.e., ai = constant. For m = 3
 
16  13
Dr t I
5
Drref tref I ref
where Iref is dened as the reference crack growth integral from Eq. (2) for the reference thickness, tref. By
noting, that if t P tref, then I P Iref and the lower-bound solution gives the exponent n =
1/6 for Eq. (4).
Conversely if t < tref, then I < Iref and the upper bound also gives the same exponent n =
1/6 for Eq. (4).

2.6. Analysis of results

Crack growth at both the weld toe and weld root was predicted for many of the joint geometry/DOB
combinations. Generally, these two cracks are far enough apart and their dimensions, compared to other
geometric features of the joint, are small enough for interaction between cracks not to be signicant. Crack
1584 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

growth simulation from the weld toe and weld root could be performed separately and the results later
merged to determine the fatigue class. In some cases simultaneous toe and root cracking was modelled while
for other joints one or other was not considered. Some details of the cracking modes are provided in the
next section where features of each joint type are described.
During computer simulation a crack does not propagate if the local fatigue stresses are compression-to-
compression because the crack is assumed to remain closed. In practice, there may exist high tensile residual
stresses or reaction stresses at the vicinity of the crack tip if the structure is highly redundant. These residual
stresses keep the crack tip open during the stress cycle. In the as-welded condition, welded joints normally
have high residual stresses, which means that the fatigue behaviour can be expressed in terms of stress range
alone [4]. To take the compression-to-compression loading into account the mean fatigue strength corre-
sponding to dierent DOBs are determined using
Drmean DOB 1 minfDrmean DOB
1; Drmean DOB 1g
Drmean DOB
1 Drmean DOB 1
Drmean DOB 1=2; Drm P 0 minfDrmean DOB 1=2; Drm P 0; Drmean DOB
1=2; Drm < 0g
Drmean DOB 1=2; Drm < 0 Drmean DOB
1=2; Drm P 0
Drmean DOB
1=2; Drm P 0 minfDrmean DOB
1=2; Drm P 0; Drmean DOB 1=2; Drm < 0g
Drmean DOB
1=2; Drm < 0 Drmean DOB 1=2; Drm P 0 and
Drmean DOB 0 minfDrmean DOB 0; Drm P 0; Drmean DOB 0; Drm < 0g

This denition means that the compressive load cycle is equally as damaging as the tensile load cycle if the
corresponding nominal stress distributions of stress ranges in both cases are the same but opposite.
On the basis of all predicted mean fatigue strengths, the theoretical fatigue classes were calculated using
Eq. (3) and curve tting was performed using a multivariate regression analysis for n-dimensional data to a
higher order polynomial. For example, the polynomial function takes the form.
X n
FATDOB ADOB;i  xai  y bi  zci  f t 6
i1

The coecients ADOB,i correspond to the DOB being evaluated. ai, bi, etc. are exponents and x, y, etc. are
independent variables, e.g., dimension ratios, ank angle, weld size, etc. The degree of the polynomial func-
tion to which the data will be tted depends on the case studied. Because FATs were directly calculated
using certain reference thickness tref, depending on the case, the theoretical thickness eect correction fac-
tor, f(t), is also included. With this correction

 1 factor it is possible to predict the fatigue strengths for other

6
t
thicknesses. It is assumed, that f t tref
, when t P tref and f(t) = 1, when t < tref. Theoretically, f(t)
may be smaller than one for t < tref, but this was not considered here.

3. Joint types and analyses results

Twelve dierent joint types were analysed using the procedure explained above.

3.1. Single llet welded T-joint with partial penetration

Fillet welded T-joints made with single llet welds, as shown in Fig. 1, commonly arise in corners of
enclosed sections. In addition to tensile loading, bending and combined tension/bending loading in both
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1585

Fig. 1. Single llet welded T-joint.

directions were examined for both positive and negative mean stresses. With reference to Fig. 1, for all load-
ing cases, the critical crack initiation sites can be either at the weld toes or at the weld root.
Finite element analyses were performed with a main plate thickness, t = 25 mm and with a base plate
thickness, T, equal to 25, 37.5 and 50 mm. Separate crack growth at the weld toe and weld root was as-
sumed. The penetration, w, the weld height, h, and the thickness ratio of plates, T/t, were altered. The anal-
ysis was carried out for w/t ratios ranging from 0.008 to 1.0, h/t ratios ranging from 0 to 1.25, and T/t ratios
ranging from 1.0 to 2.0. Weld ank angle b = 45 was assumed. More detailed fatigue strength values for
dierent w/t, h/t and T/t ratios are presented in [11,12].
The predicted fatigue class for T/t = 1 and t = 25 mm is presented as 3D surfaces with axes w/t and h/t in
Fig. 2 for tension only and bending only loading. Results were tted using a third degree least-squares poly-
nomial t, Eq. (7). The coecients and exponents for the equation are presented in Table 1.
X20  ai
  ci
h w bi T
FATDOB ADOB;i     f t MPa 7
i1
t t t
Verication of the predicted cyclic life by testing is reported in detail elsewhere [13]. Tests were carried
out for welded enclosed section parts in four-point bending. Ten test pieces from structural steel S355J2G3

Fig. 2. Predicted fatigue strength of single llet welded T-joint in as-welded condition; t = 25 mm.
1586 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

Table 1
Single llet welded T-joint
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A0,i 4.01
7.71 33.04
144.2 7.35
33.20 64.45 192.5
17.68
0.438
A1,i
3.27 11.78
2.25
0.22
4.11 12.66
55.80 23.57 8.90 4.96
A0.5,i
2.18
3.18
3.00 16.76
4.48
18.71 34.67
35.73 8.61 1.80
A
0.5,i
3.1
2.72
45.67 208.1
7.63
6.23 20.86
311 21.16
4.03
ai 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
bi 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
ci 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
A0,i
21.27
116.6 315.1
286.7 18.98
2.44
15.89 8.88 10.51
2.99
A1,i
106.0 12.50 27.55
73.99 103.8 38.10 44.87
10.00 25.23
22.71
A0.5,i
24.95
107.8 285.6
264.0 33.07 0.378 95.44
8.30 12.63
6.29
A
0.5,i 11.15 234.7
365.0 46.54 16.57
6.56 220.6
42.27 48.66
17.64
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 3
bi 2 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
ci 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai, bi and ci in Eq. (7), when Drm P 0. If Drm < 0, then A0.5,i = A
0.5,i and
A
0.5,i = A0.5,i, where in the both equations the later terms are the coecients for Drm P 0; tref = 25 mm.

EN10025 were tested with thickness T ranging from 16 to 30 mm and t from 8 to 16 mm. The predicted
cyclic life showed good correlation with experimental results when life was shorter than half million cycles.
For longer life the predictions were conservative.

3.2. Corner joint with partial penetration

The fatigue behaviour of a one-sided partially penetrating llet weld in a corner joint has been investi-
gated using plane strain LEFM calculations. In addition to tensile loading, bending and combined tension/
bending moment loading in both directions were examined for positive and negative mean stresses. Refer-
ring to Fig. 3, for all loading cases, the critical crack initiation sites are either at the weld toes or at the weld
root.

Fig. 3. Corner joint.

 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1587

Finite element analyses were performed with a plate thickness t = 10 mm. Separate crack growth at the
weld toe and weld root was assumed. The degree of weld penetration, w, the weld height, h, and the degree
of stagger, p, between the plates were altered. The analysis was carried out for w/p ratios ranging from 0
to 1 (wmin = 0.2 mm), h/(t
p) ratios ranging from 0 to 1, and p/t ratios 0, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 and 1. Weld ank
angle b = 45 was assumed. All calculated fatigue strength values for dierent w/p, h/(t
p) and p/t ratios
are presented in [14].
The coecients and exponents for the fth degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (8), are presented in
Table 2. The predicted fatigue classes for p/t = 1 and t = 10 mm are presented as 3D surfaces with axes w/p
and h/(t
p) in Fig. 4 for tension only and bending only loading.
X 56  ai  bi

w h p ci
FATDOB ADOB;i     f t MPa 8
i1
p t
p t

3.3. Angle joint

Fillet, partial penetration and full penetration butt welds are widely used to connect decks and the sti-
eners in many industrial and civil structures, e.g., oshore structures, bridges, ship structures and even nu-
clear installations. This type of joint is classied as angle joint according to EN12345 [15]. In industrial
practice, this joint type is frequently subject to uctuating loads and fatigue failure plays a major role in
the damage of structures with angle joints.
In angle joints, the full penetration butt weld is commonly adopted whenever possible. Both root cracks
and toe cracks are frequently encountered in full penetration angle joints. Toe cracks are due mainly to the
stress concentration in weld toe area while root cracking is the result of the constraint of shrinkage of the
root region during welding. In the present study, various load conditions, joint geometry and dimension
were considered and their eect on fatigue strength was investigated.
In engineering practice, the trapezoidal stiener-to-deck plate weld is often accomplished using full pen-
etration butt welds in open-type structures. Based on typical joint geometries and evaluation of the loads
often encountered in industrial practice, the structural model of the angle joint for this investigation was
simplied as shown in Fig. 5.
The load carried by the stiener varies from case to case. The carried loads can be tensile, bending or
combined tension and bending. Five dierent DOBs, 1.0,
0.5, 0.0, 0.5 and 1.0, were considered for both
tensile and compressive membrane stress conditions in this study. In addition to the size of the stiener, the
geometry of the joint is also important for the calculation of the fatigue class FAT. Three dierent angles,
b = 30, 45 and 60, and three dierent thickness ratios of the stiener, t/T = 12/50, 20/50 and 35/50, were
considered during the modelling. It should be noted that the weld size, w, can be determined by the rela-
tionship between t and b.
For arc welded steel joints, undercuts at the toe area and concave shrinkage grooves at the root region
commonly occur in practice even for stringent quality levels of the joint [16]. It is considered that undercuts
at the toe area and concave shrinkage grooves at the root area dominate the fatigue process and no crack
initiation period exists. Therefore, again it is reasonable to assume that there are pre-existing 0.2 mm long
cracks both at the toe and root areas of the angle joint.
It is well known that the location and orientation of the pre-existing crack strongly inuence the fatigue
crack propagation and fatigue life of the joint. During calculations of this case, dierent orientations of the
pre-existing toe cracks and root cracks were considered. For example, toe cracks vertical to the stiener and
vertical to the deck were both considered in addition to root cracks vertical to the stiener and vertical and
parallel to the deck. All calculated fatigue strength values for dierent t/T ratios and b values are presented
in [17]. The deck plate thickness T = 50 mm.
1588 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

Table 2
Fillet welded corner
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A0,i
19.35
162.8
42.37 92.68 19.28 95.21 268.9 86.69
835.8 739
A1,i
359.8 264.8 102.7
122.3 7.253
16.55
417.1
101.4 1079
307.3
A0.5,i 43.08
270.9 497.8
735.6
444
361.2 1201
587.8 1863
1203
A
0.5,i
315.3
354 135.6
114.5
147 149.1 698.7
116.6 1259
707.1
ai 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
bi 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
ci 4 4 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 3
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
A0,i 41.69 2.993
152.9
110
123 43.69
93.08 919.5
766.5
93.28
A1,i
4.602 13.14 10.82 159.8
105 84.39 215.9
736.8
274.3 444.9
A0.5,i 142.4 168.3 445.7
1304 521.9 33.25 1197
2856 1731 91.44
A
0.5,i 11.97
9.82
217.7
432.3 200.4
28.13 191
493.1
1060 1208
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 3
bi 2 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
ci 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
A0,i
5.302 31.8
74.95 83.84
35.4 0.365
4.875 98.43
22.9
17.16
A1,i 1.881 23.81
53.44
10.26 5.712
1.245
9.889 107.3
122.9 27.55
A0.5,i 0.116 221.7
670.6 138.3
101
15.17 339.2
120.4 0.582
17.72
A
0.5,i 0.982 16.29
33 69.51
7.37
6.773 84.19
65.19 41.42
0.643
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 3
bi 3 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
ci 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
A0,i 35.09
253.5 156.7 107.5
32.8 12.24
7.002 8.368 12.33
56.65
A1,i
29.18 58.45 161.9 17.81
149 2.468
8.169 2.206 14.13
16.94
A0.5,i
297.6 791
350.7
262.2 79.81
31.81
88.59 105.5 111.3
95.99
A
0.5,i
31.07
31.31 390.9 55.96
373 5.053
3.761 4.316 11.92
24.03
ai 0 1 2 3 4 1 0 0 0 1
bi 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 4 3 3
ci 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
A0,i 28.49 4.655 74.07
51.76
0.72 4.631
36.73 29.18 15.13
13.57
A1,i 6.966 22.05 29.51
9.039
11.2 5.067
33.79 39.96 15.82
24.7
A0.5,i 151.6
50.85 126.8
102.8
65.8 16.33
26.67 19.73 18.08 6.12
A
0.5,i 8.983 15.15 29.45
10.13
5.55 1.818
10.84 5.175 3.473
1.785
ai 2 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4
bi 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
ci 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
51 52 53 54 55 56
A0,i
0.552 5.387
5.176
3.692 0.139 3.64
A1,i
0.318 8.602
12.3
7.626 1.687 9.963
A0.5,i 1.008 2.283
8.931
4.656 2.11 7.926
A
0.5,i
0.234 8.317
13.55
8.012 2.384 11.55
ai 0 1 2 3 4 5
bi 0 0 0 0 0 0
ci 0 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai, bi and ci in Eq. (8), when Drm P 0. If Drm < 0, then A0.5,i = A
0.5,i and
A
0.5,i = A0.5,i, where in the both equations the later terms are the coecients for Drm P 0; tref = 10 mm.
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1589

Fig. 4. Predicted fatigue strength of corner joint in as-welded condition; t = 10 mm.

Fig. 5. Angle joint.

Table 3
Angle joint with full penetration
i 1 2 3 4 5 6
A0,i 1.037
25.43
72.10 187.0
4.269 0.0317
A1,i 0.182 50.21
82.21 91.91 0.0539
0.00142
A0.5,i
0.101
7.248
47.40 187.5
2.799 0.0175
A
0.5,i
0.445 38.91
51.39 61.83 1.279
0.0135
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2
bi 1 2 1 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai and bi in Eq. (9), when Drm P 0. If Drm < 0, then A0.5,i = A
0.5,i and
A
0.5,i = A0.5,i, where in the both equations the later terms are the coecients for Drm P 0; tref = 50 mm.
1590 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

Fig. 6. Predicted fatigue strength of angle joint in as-welded condition; T = 50 mm.

The coecients and exponents for the second degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (9), are presented
in Table 3. The predicted fatigue classes are presented as 3D surfaces with axes b and t/T in Fig. 6 for ten-
sion only and bending only loading.
X6
t bi
FATDOB ADOB;i  bai   f t MPa 9
i1
T

3.4. Cruciform joint with V-butt welds and partial penetration

The welded cruciform joint that was studied is shown in Fig. 7. For all DOBs, both toe and root cracks
were considered. For the toe crack, an initial crack length of 0.2 mm was assumed, while the lack of pen-
etration forms the root crack. A curved crack growth path and the simultaneous growth of the toe crack

Fig. 7. Cruciform joint with V-butt welds and partial penetration.

 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1591

and the root crack are taken into account. In addition to tensile loading, bending and combined tension/
bending load in both directions are examined.
Finite element model analyses were performed with a main plate thickness t = 50 mm and a base plate
thickness T = 80 mm. Five dierent DOBs were applied at the end of the main plate, Fig. 7. The degree of
weld penetration, w, weld height, h, and weld ank angle, b, were altered. The analysis was carried out for
w/t ratios ranging from 0.004 to 1.0; h/t ratios ranging from 0 to 1.2, and for weld ank angles of 30, 45
and 60. All calculated fatigue strength values for dierent h/t and w/t ratios and b angles are presented in [10].
The coecients and exponents for the third degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (10), are presented in
Table 4. The predicted fatigue classes for b = 45 and t = 50 mm are presented as 3D surfaces with axes w/t
and h/t in Fig. 8 for tension only and bending only loading.
X 20  ai

h w bi ci
FATDOB ADOB;i    b  f t MPa 10
i1
t t

Table 4
Cruciform joint with V-butt welds and partial penetration
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A0,i 2E
05
0.0006 0.000645
0.0872
0.0518 0.2297
0.2266 3.833 0.0265
0.112
A1,i 0.0081
0.00581 0.000982
0.129
0.6464 0.7468 0.03276 5.3833
1.462
0.1043
A0.5,i
0.001 0.00326 0.000709
0.0973 0.1368 0.1082
0.4082 4.310
0.2756
0.0343
ai 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
bi 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
ci 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
A0,i
34.03
83.71 194.1
164.4 61.65
12.49 0.2770
26.98 34.93
10.34
A1,i
101.8
8.41 61.71
146.8 122.3 27.89 0.3890 49.44 29.65
13.41
A0.5,i
17.59
88.36 209.4
176.5 12.63
3.368 0.3114 14.33 18.99
5.025
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 3
bi 2 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
ci 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai, bi and ci in Eq. (10); tref = 50 mm.

Fig. 8. Predicted fatigue strength of cruciform joint with partially penetrating V-welds in as-welded condition; tref = 50 mm.
1592 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

3.5. Cruciform joint with K-butt welds and partial penetration

The partially penetrating K-welds in a cruciform joint that was investigated is shown in Fig. 9. In this
case the dominant crack, toe or root, is strongly dependent on the weld size, weld geometry and penetra-
tion, and loading. In design recommendations this joint is often classied according to the failure mode [5].
In design, the fatigue strength for weld metal failure and weld toe failure must be calculated and the lower
of the two values is chosen as the fatigue class [18].
For tensile loading, the ratio of critical weld leg length, h, to plate thickness, t, for zero penetration welds
lies in the approximate range 0.91.1 when t varies between 12.5 and 50 mm [4]. These estimates are usually
based on the stress intensity factor solutions for the root cracks under tensile loading reported by Frank
and Fisher [18], where it was assumed that the root crack propagates parallel to the cross-plate and the
small interaction eect between the toe and root crack was also neglected. In reality, the crack growth path
is not straight but curved, and becomes more curved for smaller welds. In this work the curved crack
growth path and the simultaneous growth of the toe crack and the root crack are taken into account. In
addition to tensile loading, bending and combined tension/bending moment loading are also examined.
For both tensile and bending moment loading, the critical crack initiation site is either at the top of the
weld toe or at the weld root [18]. For the toe crack, an initial crack length of 0.2 mm was assumed.
Finite element model analyses were performed with a main plate thickness t = 50 mm and a base plate
thickness T = 80 mm. DOBs of 0, 0.5 and 1 were applied at the end of the main plate, Fig. 9. The degree of
weld penetration, w, weld height, h, and weld ank angle, b, were varied. The analysis was carried out for w/
t ratios between 0.1 and 1.0, h/t ratios between 0 and 1.1, and for weld ank angles of 45, 30 and 15. All
calculated fatigue strength values for dierent h/t and w/t ratios and b angles are presented in [9].
The coecients and exponents for the third degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (11), are presented in
Table 5. The predicted fatigue classes for b = 45 and t = 50 mm are presented as 3D surfaces with axes w/t
and h/t in Fig. 10 for tension only and bending only loading.
X20  ai

h w bi ci
FATDOB ADOB;i    b  f t MPa 11
i1
t t
Nykanen [9] has compared the numerical predictions to experimental results [1924] based on the gen-
eralized stress parameter of Maddox in [4] that takes into account the geometric features of the test
specimen. The predicted fatigue strengths correlate reasonably well with experimental results. In spite of

Fig. 9. Cruciform joint with K-butt welds and partial penetration.

 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1593

Table 5
Cruciform joint with K-butt welds and partial penetration
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A0,i 0.0189
0.01243 0.00349
0.306
0.972 0.537 0.535 8.003
2.54 1.0103
A1,i 0.0024
0.00016 0.00380
0.335 0.914
0.704
0.159 9.012
1.484 0.8628
A0.5,i 0.0046
0.01669 0.00376
0.318
0.267 0.770
0.00522 8.139
2.907 2.1992
ai 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
bi 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
ci 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
A0,i
24.47
10.67 10.41
81.15 114.3 4.105 0.980 81.83
48.29
5.817
A1,i 89.95
26.70
5.50 0.8765 49.92
112.5 1.103 78.36
131.2 76.33
A0.5,i 51.63 10.75
91.25 9.8182 97.45
74.03 0.9962 106.7
117.3 29.72
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 3
bi 2 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
ci 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai, bi and ci in Eq. (11); tref = 50 mm.

Fig. 10. Predicted fatigue strength of cruciform joint with partially penetrating K-welds in as-welded condition; T = 80 mm and
t = 50 mm.

the large degree of experimental scatter in the fatigue strength values at low stress levels, the lower-bound
line is quite well predicted numerically even though the threshold behaviour was not accounted for in the
life predictions.

3.6. T-joint with llet welds

The transverse, non-load-carrying llet welded T-joint shown in Fig. 11 was analysed. This case diered
from the other cases in this study because the fatigue strength values were extracted from the results derived
for planar elliptical toe cracks in [25,26] by assuming a sharp weld toe and crack shape (aspect ratio) devel-
opment and coalescence after Engesvik and Moan [27].
1594 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

Fig. 11. T-joint with llet welds. Toe cracks only.

Initially only tension only and bending only loadings were examined. The principle of superposition was
then used to determine the stress intensity factors for other tension/bending combinations. Only weld toe
crack propagation was studied for this joint. The base plate thickness, T, was 25 mm and the attachment
plate thickness, t, to base plate thickness, t/T, was varied from 0.2 to 1. Weld leg length, h, to attachment
plate thickness ratio, h/t, was varied from 0.25 to 5 and weld ank angle, b, from 15 to 70.
The coecients and exponents for the second degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (12), are presented
in Table 6. The predicted fatigue classes for b = 45 and T = 25 mm are presented as 3D surfaces with axes
h/t and t/T in Fig. 12 for tension only and bending only loading.
X 10
t ai hbi
FATDOB ADOB;i    bci  f t MPa 12
i1
T t
The results are in quite good agreement with FAT 80 for as-welded transverse non-load-carrying llet
welded attachments [5].

3.7. Transverse partial penetration butt weld

For butt weld joints welded from both sides, it is dicult to ensure that full root penetration is achieved.
Fatigue failure from the weld roots may result in unexpectedly low fatigue strength. With fatigue loading,
fatigue failure plays a dominative role in the damage of such structures, and may reduce the design stresses
to a fraction of those allowed in the static loading case or in the fatigue case where full penetration is achieved.
Fig. 13 shows the welded joint, the applied load conditions and constraints that were used in this study.
The simultaneous crack growth of both root cracks was studied. In addition to tensile loading, bending and
combined tension/bending moment loading are examined. Only root cracks were analysed by fracture
mechanics. When the results were curve tted, it was supposed FAT 80 for toe cracks as recommended
by IIW [5]. A 0.2 mm gap between plate ends was assumed due to the lack of penetration. The transition

Table 6
T-joint with llet welds
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A0,i 0.0244 0.00120 0.00643
0.678 1.437 0.276
2.376 104.1
6.940 2.862
A1,i 0.0797 0.01158 0.00576
0.822 3.251 0.555
5.161 114.5
15.03 5.589
A0.5,i 0.0451 0.00381 0.00593
0.739 2.379 0.444
3.896 108.7
11.35 4.561
ai 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
bi 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
ci 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai, bi and ci in Eq. (12); tref = 25 mm.
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1595

Fig. 12. Predicted fatigue strength of T-joint with llet welds in as welded condition; T = 25 mm.

Fig. 13. Transverse partial penetration butt weld. Root cracks only.

angle at the toe of the butt weld was chosen to be b = 45. The plate thickness was t = 25 mm and plate
length was l = 100 mm.
Dimension variables of the butt weld are also shown in Fig. 13. The variables were the degree of weld
penetration, w, weld heights l1, l2, weld widths b1, b2, and weld leg heights h1, h2. The weld shape was chosen
so, that b1/2l = b2/2l = b/2l and h1/b1 = h2/b2 = h/b. Four independent variables are obtained. These were
varied as w/t = 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8; l1/l2 = 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0; b/2l = 1.0 and 0.5 and h/b = 0.1, 0.2
and 0.3. All calculated fatigue strength values for dierent w/t, l1/l2, b/2l and h/b ratios are presented graph-
ically in [28].
The coecients and exponents for the third degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (13), are presented in
Table 7. The predicted fatigue classes for h/b = 0.1, b/2l = 0.5 and t = 25 mm are presented as 3D surfaces
with axes w/t and l1/l2 in Fig. 14 for tension only and bending only loading.
X 35
wai hbi l ci  b d i
1
FATDOB ADOB;i      f t MPa 13
i1
t b l 2 2l
1596 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

Table 7
Transverse butt weld
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A0,i 30.19 7.47
5.90
7.79 2.24 4.06
0.770 0.1646 5.206
7.96
A1,i 17.56 11.30
2.20
17.00
5.11
5.48 6.942
0.328 8.914 9.57
A0.5,i 60.52 28.86
10.87
16.37 4.41 3.22 3.126 0.7154 9.198
27.58
A
0.5,i 98.50
6.52
14.46
9.03 5.09 49.63
17.01
3.768 10.39 36.82
ai 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
bi 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
ci 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 0
di 2 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
A0,i
9.64 3.019 22.28
60.23 0.419 0.421 0.0658 2.314
16.12 0.0929
A1,i
59.43
0.334 18.68 70.32
93.7 5.396 0.2134 1.715
13.21
4.604
A0.5,i
102.5 16.024 45.97
133.1 21.1
9.232
0.681 7.871
47.72
3.644
A
0.5,i 44.48 14.278 33.33
105.8
152.5 11.63 2.198
3.886 16.95 41.97
ai 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 1
bi 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
ci 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 2 1
di 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
A0,i 2.185
0.652 27.42
9.25 7.99
21.04 5.084 6.770
5.887 22.77
A1,i
16.26 5.129 31.14
117.8 96.69
13.98 29.35 43.92
23.61 77.68
A0.5,i 3.180 2.139 49.34 79.0
15.79 44.47 14.75 21.53
9.65 2.939
A
0.5,i 90.07
62.26 60.07
226.0 91.16
255.0
39.20
55.98 55.87 68.91
ai 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 1
bi 2 1 0 0 0 2 3 2 1 1
ci 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
di 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 32 33 34 35
A0,i
10.90 62.38
241.1 442.7
292.7
A1,i
76.92 66.27 175.8
364.6 119.6
A0.5,i
0.824 129.1
520.3 793.6
490.4
A
0.5,i
68.01 89.82
514.4 1395
937.4
ai 2 0 1 2 3
bi 1 0 0 0 0
ci 0 0 0 0 0
di 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai, bi, ci and di in Eq. (13), when Drm P 0. If Drm < 0, then A0.5,i = A
0.5,i and
A
0.5,i = A0.5,i, where in the both equations the later terms are the coecients for Drm P 0; tref = 25 mm.

3.8. Transverse partial penetration single butt weld

This type of joint is a transverse butt joint welded from one side of the base plates without backing and
with partial penetration as shown in Fig. 15. In some cases the plates to be welded had the same thickness
while in other cases the plate thickness was dierent. In addition to tensile loading, bending and combined
tension/bending moment loading in both directions were examined for positive and negative mean stresses.
For this joint type, both weld toe and weld root initiation are possible, but in this study only root failure
was considered. The gap between plates was assumed to be 0.5 mm. In curve tting phase FAT 80 was as-
sumed for toe cracks as in Section 3.7.
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1597

Fig. 14. Predicted fatigue strength of butt weld in as-welded condition; t = 25 mm.

Fig. 15. Transverse single butt weld, root cracks only.

Finite element analyses were performed with a main plate thickness, t =25 mm and with base plate thick-
ness, T, equal to 25, 27.5, 35 and 50 mm. Additionally, the penetration, w, the height of the reinforcement,
h, the width of the weld, b, were altered. The groove angle of the joint had slopes of a = 1:1 or 1:2.
The length of each plate, l, was chosen to be 100 mm and the transition angle at the toe of the butt weld
was chosen to be b = 45. Analysis was carried out for w/t ratios 0.0, 0.04, 0.1, 0.4, and h/b ratios 0.0, 0.1,
0.3.
Coecients and exponents for the third degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (14), are presented in
Table 8. The predicted fatigue classes for h/b = 0.1 and tan a = 0.5 are presented as 3D surfaces with axes
w/t and T/t in Fig. 16 for tension only and bending only loading.

X
35
wai T bi hci
FATDOB ADOB;i     tan ad i  f t MPa 14
i1
t t b
1598 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

Table 8
Transverse single butt weld
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A0,i 93.20 25.94 55.15
27.33
3.381 40.71
2.979
136.3
42.14
12.79
A1,i 90.49
26.76 28.63
2.21 14.08 157.7 115.3
573.7
39.06
15.55
A0.5,i 98.94 24.05 50.39
27.62
4.628 52.99
4.906
133.1
32.82
13.61
A
0.5,i 21.74 0.205
9.70
12.76
0.874
14.087
0.0857 50.66
0.0603
0.0194
ai 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
bi 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
ci 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 0
di 2 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
A0,i
2.430
27.66 44.52
152.7 59.46
248.0 19.76 241.2 585.3
55.71
A1,i 26.70
45.32 46.66
58.55
116.3 1229
171.52 142.3 342.6
83.12
A0.5,i
2.913
22.16 41.35
126.0
3.413 105.8
25.59 177.6 429.1
76.05
A
0.5,i
0.303 0.609 22.91
16.98
51.97 288.9 14.47
29.16
71.47
8.700
ai 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 1
bi 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
ci 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 2 1
di 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
A0,i
28.03 96.74
236.7 1902
4425
30.10
13.90 78.71
134.8 133.9
A1,i
94.73 261.8
174.4 682.7
2489
29.68
11.32 48.42
82.4 76.51
A0.5,i
28.32 120.3
199.2 1599
3843
26.67
10.44 62.49
114.6 134.2
A
0.5,i 1.025
6.806 19.22
20.17
180.0
1.421 0.2856
1.082 1.416 4.056
ai 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 1
bi 2 1 0 0 0 2 3 2 1 1
ci 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
di 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 32 33 34 35
A0,i
46.55 140.3
644.4 2323
3030
A1,i 92.08 111.8
356.6 1019
1421
A0.5,i
58.34 133.3
575.8 1944
2479
A
0.5,i 5.118 70.47
94.41 953.4
2129
ai 2 0 1 2 3
bi 1 0 0 0 0
ci 0 0 0 0 0
di 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai, bi, ci and di in Eq. (14), when Drm P 0. If Drm < 0, then A0.5,i = A
0.5,i and
A
0.5,i = A0.5,i, where in the both equations the later terms are the coecients for Drm P 0; tref = 25 mm.

3.9. Non-load-carrying cover plate llet welded joint

The non-load-carrying cover plate joint is frequently encountered in industrial practice. The joint was
simplied as shown in Fig. 17. This type of joint is classied as a parallel joint according to EN12345
[15]. In industrial practice fatigue failure plays a major role in the damage of a structure with parallel joints.
Practical dimensions and potential load conditions were dened in conjunction with experienced design
engineers. The 2D FE model could be treated as a plane strain problem due to the thickness and con-
straints. In parallel joints, toe crack and lack of penetration are frequently encountered defects. Toe cracks
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1599

Fig. 16. Predicted fatigue strength of single butt weld with unequal plate thicknesses in as-welded condition; t = 25 mm.

Fig. 17. Non-load-carrying cover plate llet welded joint.

occur because of the stress concentration in the weld toe region, while lack of penetration results from inac-
cessibility of the root region during welding. In this case, various degrees of lack of penetration, weld geom-
etry, load conditions and boundary constraint were considered, and their eect on fatigue strength was
investigated.
Because of geometrical symmetry of the joint, only half of the joint was considered during the calcula-
tion. The symmetry of the joint was enforced by applying x constraint along the left edge of the model.
1600 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

However, two alternate y-direction boundary conditions of the load-carrying ange plate were considered.
In case 1, vertical movement of the plate was permitted, while in case 2 vertical deection was constrained
such as would occur in the region of the web for a cover plate on an I beam. These two boundary conditions
are shown in Fig. 17.
Based on a consideration of practical assembling quality of the joint in industry, a 1 mm gap between the
two plates was assumed. It is reasonable to assume that there are pre-existing cracks with a length of
0.2 mm both in the toe and root areas of the parallel joint. These cracks were considered as the initial cracks
during the fatigue strength calculation in this study. Five loading conditions, DOB =
1.0,
0.5, 0.0, 0.5,
and 1.0, were considered for case 1. Because the application of a bending moment is not common engineer-
ing practice for case 2, only the pure tensile condition, DOB = 0.0, was considered. The variation in leg
length, h, and lack of penetration of the llet weld, w, were taken into account by changing the ratio h/l
from 0.05 to 0.2 and w/l from 0.6 to 1.0. The cover plate length, l, is chosen to be 150 mm, base plate thick-
ness T = 50 mm and cover plate thickness t = 35 mm. Three ank angles b = 30, 45 and 60 were consid-
ered. More detailed fatigue strength values for dierent w/t, h/t and T/t ratios are presented in [29].
The coecients and exponents for the second degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (15), are presented
in Table 9. The predicted fatigue classes for cases 1 and 2 restraint and b = 45 are presented as 3D surfaces
with axes w/l and h/l in Fig. 18 for tension only loading.
X10
wai hbi
FATDOB ADOB;i    bci  f t MPa 15
i1
l l

3.10. Butt weld with permanent backing bars

The fatigue behaviour of butt welds made on permanent backing bars (Fig. 19) was studied under trans-
verse loading. If the backing bar is tack welded to the edge of the weld groove of one plate prior to welding,
case 1 in Fig. 19, the most likely mode of fatigue failure in axial tension is root failure with a crack grow-
ing through the butt weld. If the backing bar is llet welded into position, case 2 in Fig. 19, fatigue failure
from the toe of the llet weld could also result. Only fatigue crack propagation from the root is investigated
here.

Table 9
Non-load-carrying cover plate llet welded joint
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Case 1
A0,i 0.137
0.0792 0.00586
0.6881 129.4 249.5
164.3 100.4
15.36
10.31
A1,i
0.056
0.3263 0.00665
0.6986
1.85 167.4
14.0 90.40
12.70 4.155
A+0.5,i 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 125.0 0.0 0.0
A
0.5,i
0.066
0.3142 0.00612
0.5932 55.43 145.6
58.3 86.72
4.061
5.788
ai 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
bi 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
ci 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Case 2
A0,i
0.027
0.6024 0.00551
0.5278
47.50 151.4 2.52 69.73
5.092 9.801
ai 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
bi 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
ci 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai, bi and ci in Eq. (15), when Drm P 0. If Drm < 0, then A0.5,i = A
0.5,i and
A
0.5,i = A0.5,i, where in the both equations the later terms are the coecients for Drm P 0; tref = 50 mm.
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1601

Fig. 18. Predicted fatigue strength of non-load-carrying cover plate llet welded joint in as-welded condition; T = 50 mm and
t = 35 mm.

Fig. 19. Butt weld with permanent backing bars.

The dimensions of the joint were as shown in Fig. 19. The thickness of the base plate was T = 10 mm.
The ratio between backing bar thickness and base plate thickness, t/T, was varied from 0.25 to 1.0. Width of
weld root to base plate thickness ratio, w/T, was varied from 0.1 to 1.5 and the gap between the base plate
and the backing bar was 0.2 mm. The angle of the llet weld is 45 and the leg length of the llet weld, h,
varied according to h/t = 0.5.
A detailed analysis of the tensile loading case has been published [30]. It was shown that an equation for
the stress gradient eect could be derived that considers the eects of dierent dimensional ratios. The the-
oretical stress gradient eect for this case is then
 0:012  
0:203  0:025
Dr t w T
16
Drref tref wref T ref
1602 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

where Tref, tref, wref and Drref are the base plate and backing bar thicknesses, width of weld root and
fatigue strength of some reference joint, respectively. If t, w and T are scaled fully proportionally,
then the summation of exponents gives n =
0.166 which is approximately equal to n =
1/6 as before
in Eq. (4).
The coecients and exponents for the fourth degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (17), are presented
in Table 10. The predicted fatigue classes for cases 1 and 2 restraint are presented as 3D surfaces with axes
w/T and t/T in Fig. 20 for tension only and bending only loading.

X
15
wai
t bi
FATDOB ADOB;i    f t MPa 17
i1
T T

The predictions were compared with test results [31,32] in [30]. The predicted fatigue strengths correlate
reasonably well with experimental results. Despite a large degree of scatter in the fatigue strength values at
low stress levels, the lower-bound line is quite well predicted.

3.11. Axially loaded lap joints

Laser-welded lap joints are usually loaded with a concentric axial force, as shown in Fig. 21. The gap
between the plates acts as an initial fatigue crack of undened length. The direction of crack growth de-
pends on the loading geometry and the dimensions of the joint. If the joint is loaded in tension, the crack
tends to grow towards the cantilever plate side, or in a simply-supported geometry towards the thinner
plate. It is assumed that the joint is tight, and that there is no initial gap between the plates.
Fig. 21 also shows the two restraint cases assumed for this joint. Case 1 is a simple cantilever type re-
straint while case 2 is simply supported. Plate thickness was T = 10 mm. Analysis was carried out for plate
thickness ratios, t/T, of 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 and weld root width to plate thickness, w/T, ratios of 0.125, 0.25,
0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0. The ratios w/l = 2.5 and L/w = 80 were chosen where L is the overall length of the spec-
imen. Only tensile loading was considered. A detailed analysis for both cases with stress intensity factor
equations has been presented [33].
Coecients and exponents for the fourth degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (18), are presented in
Table 11. The predicted fatigue classes for both restraint cases are presented as 3D surfaces with axes w/T
and t/T in Fig. 22 for tension only loading

X
15
wai
t bi
FATDOB ADOB;i    f t MPa 18
i1
T T

The predicted fatigue strengths are conservative with respect to published experimental results [3335].

3.12. Axially loaded symmetric double lap joint

Lap joints with transverse llet welds are usually loaded with a concentric axial force, as shown in Fig.
23. The location of the crack growth depends on the loading case and the dimensions of the joint. In axial
tension, toe failure with crack growth into the base plate is expected for suciently large throat thickness,
otherwise root failure with a crack growing through the weld is more likely. In this study only root crack
propagation is considered. The eccentricity of the weld induces bending stresses in the lap plate. If the joint
is loaded in tension, the lap plate exhibits a sagging deformation mode, and the crack tends to grow to-
wards the lap plate side. It is assumed that the joint is tight and that the restraint provided by the non-
stressed projecting end of the base plate prevents this deection. If the lap plate is loaded in compression,
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609
Table 10
Butt weld with permanent backing bars
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Case 1
A0,i
59.42 45.27
56.39
51.68 223.4
56.55 110.2
339.9 230.1
54.02 137.9
268.9 575.7
485.5 138.0
A1,i
7.052
0.752 2.419
1.127 9.09 4.277
0.1941
8.526 2.728
3.565 97.19
34.60 23.98
8.45 1.824
A0.5,i
33.23 22.26
26.98
26.40 116.2
26.14 55.02
174.2 116.4
28.79 117.6
151.8 299.8
247.0 69.92
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4
bi 3 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Case 2
A0,i 16.36
25.29 32.55 19.08
57.81 13.25
63.20 169.5
157.1 50.00 165.9
372.4 615.8
426.2 104.5
A1,i
8.74
7.45 8.669 2.794 32.63
8.179
17.68 2.693
26.19 12.37 98.14
67.85 95.15
54.1 10.72
A0.5,i 3.81
16.37 20.61 10.93
12.59 2.530
40.43 86.10
91.62 31.18 132.0
220.1 355.5
240.2 57.60
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4
bi 3 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai and bi in Eq. (17); tref = 10 mm.

1603
1604 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

Fig. 20. Predicted fatigue strength of butt weld with permanent backing bars in as-welded condition; T = 10 mm.

Fig. 21. Axially loaded lap joints.

 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609
Table 11
Axially loaded lap joints
i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Case 1
A0,i
2.90
0.0719
0.511
0.958 8.082
0.226
1.277 15.95
8.49 1.065
1.152 12.91
14.046 5.051
0.575
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4
bi 3 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Case 2
A0,i 0.0098
5.56 0.7498 6.023 4.672
0.390 6.788 13.62
7.385 0.9651
4.726 31.02
28.95 9.636
1.052
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4
bi 3 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients ADOB,i and exponents ai and bi in Eq. (18); tref = 10 mm.

1605
1606 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

Fig. 22. Predicted fatigue strength of axially loaded lap joints in as welded condition; T = 10 mm.

Fig. 23. Axially loaded symmetric double lap joint.

it exhibits a hogging mode of deformation, causing the gap to open thus generating an opening mode stress
intensity factor KI at the root, resulting crack growth into the base plate.
Analysis was limited to a symmetric lap joint with only a transverse weld, quarter model analysed. The
weld ank angle was assumed to be 45 and lap plate thickness was equal to the base plate thickness
T = 10 mm. Analysis was carried out for lap plate length to plate thickness L/T ratios 2, 5, and 10 and
leg length to plate thickness, h/T, ratios 1.0, 0.7 and 0.4. A detailed analysis for both cases with stress inten-
sity factor equations and some experimental comparisons has been presented [8].

Table 12
Axially loaded symmetric double lap joint
i 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ai,tension 0 0 0 4.398 75.17
7.694
Ai,compression
5.16 0.3887
4.467 10.87 120.8
15.20
ai 1 0 0 0 1 2
bi 1 2 1 0 0 0
The curve tted coecients Ai and exponents ai and bi in Eq. (19) for tensile and compressive loading; tref = 10 mm.
 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609 1607

Fig. 24. Predicted fatigue strength of axially loaded symmetric double lap joint in as-welded condition; T = 10 mm.

The coecients and exponents for the second degree least-squares polynomial t, Eq. (19), are presented
in Table 12. The predicted fatigue classes are presented as 3D surfaces with axes L/T and h/T in Fig. 24 for
both tensile and compressive loading.
X6  ai  bi
h L
FAT Ai    f t MPa 19
i1
T T

4. Discussion and conclusions

The fatigue behaviour of 12 dierent two-dimensional (2D) welded joints has been investigated by using
2D linear elastic fracture mechanics calculations and the nite element method. Crack paths were esti-
mated determined using the FRANC2D/L program and the maximum tangential stress criterion. The J-
integral method and Paris crack growth law were used to predict crack growth rates and identical fatigue
behaviour was assumed for both the weld metal and the parent material. It was assumed that the fatigue
life of the joint could be described by the propagation of pre-existing straight-fronted cracks. In order to
achieve conservative estimates, the crack initiation period, the semi-elliptic crack-front shape of an initial
fatigue crack and the threshold value of stress intensity factor were not taken into account. Welds were
assumed to be in the as-welded condition so that whole stress range was assumed to be eective in crack
propagation. An initial crack depth of 0.2 mm was assumed for weld toe defects. For most of the joints
root cracking, was a signicant feature so the analysis considered both toe and root cracks at several
locations.
Joint geometry and load conditions were systematically varied and the predicted fatigue strength val-
ues were curve tted using polynomials in order to establish parametric relationships between strength
and geometry variables. The parametric equations cover a wide range of typical joint types and geome-
tries. The resulting equations are relatively easily programmed and can be implemented as an engineering
tool for designers in assessing the eects of plate thickness, joint geometry and weld penetration
specication.
1608 T. Nykanen et al. / Engineering Fracture Mechanics 72 (2005) 15801609

Acknowledgments

The support of Metso Paper Inc., Andritz-Ahlstrom, KCI Konecranes, Timberjack, Rautaruukki, VR,
BMH Wood Technology, VTT Manufacturing Technology and the National Technology Agency, Tekes,
are greatly appreciated.

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