Predicting weld toe stress concentration factors for T and skewed T-joint plate connections

The results of linear elastic finite element analyses of stress concentration factors (SCFs) of 80 weld toe T-butt plate geometries are presented in parametric form for tension and pure bending loading. The closed form solutions describe the stress state of the two-dimensional plane stress models studied in terms of weldment angle, weld root radius, weld attachment width and plate thickness. SCFs are presented in full parametric form and also as simple reduced expressions quantifying the degree of error from raw data in each case, The paper also reports an investigation into the suitability of the SCF parametric equations to skewed T-joints. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.