Fatigue strength assessment of complex welded structures with severe force concentrations along a weld seam

This paper investigates weld root fatigue strength of complex structures including severe force concentrations along a weld seam. Fatigue tests were carried out for a pillar assembly with various weld configurations. A comparative analysis was carried out with local nominal weld stress (LNWS), structural weld stress, and effective notch stress (ENS) approaches. The study shows that the LNWS approach gives the best prediction, with a scatter range index of 1.26 to 1.68 depending on the weld type. The accuracy of the structural weld stress approach and ENS was significantly lower, with a scatter range index of 4.98 and 5.40, respectively.