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Analysis of Stress Intensity Factor for Cracked Non-load-carrying Fillet Welded Joint Under High-Temperature Tensile Loading

  • Research Article-Civil Engineering
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Abstract

The flaws due to surface cracks take place frequently in practical non-load-carrying fillet welded joints. High-temperature tensile properties of these joints are a vital concern in many structural applications such as crane beam in metallurgical workshop. In the present study, the contribution of high temperature to the stress intensity factor, KI, of non-load-carrying fillet welded joints was investigated on the basis of the theory of thermo-elasticity. A finite element-based numerical model was developed to simulate the progress of surface crack initiated at the weld toe using fracture mechanics techniques. The validity of the modelling was confirmed by full-scale experimental data of a H section steel beam under elevated temperature and toe cracking plate with 30° and 45° fillets on edges under uniaxial tensile loading. The modelling results show that the difference of KI between the toe cracking and edge cracking of the plate is elaborated as the crack depth to plate thickness ratio is no more than 0.2. Furthermore, KI for different configured non-load-carrying fillet welded joints under elevated temperature levels are discussed. As the weld flank angle became larger and more prone to induce higher local stress concentration, a tendency of increased KI was observed. With the combination of the thermal effect, its corresponding KI is moderately enlarged and the slope of the increase of KI becomes steeper due to softening. When the weld leg size is increased, the fracture is more likely to occur since the KI is more sensitive to the variation of temperature.

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Abbreviations

A :

Constant

a, α, α f :

Crack length, thermal expansion coefficient and weld flank angle, respectively

b f :

Flange width

c :

Specific heat capacity of the solid per unit volume

D :

Elastic stiffness matrix

E, G :

Young’s modulus and shear modulus, respectively

h w :

Web height

L :

Characteristic length

h f :

Weld leg size

k :

Thermal conductivity

K I :

Stress intensity factor for the crack plane normal to the direction of tensile loading

M(U, T)/k :

Temperature jump

U, P :

Temperature solution points

Q :

Equivalent heat flow

q(U,T) :

Heat flux across the crack surface for perfect heat conductivity of crack surface

r :

Radial distance in stress field near the crack

SIF:

Stress intensity factor

TEMP:

Temperature

t :

Time

t f :

Flange thickness

T 0, q 0 :

Initial temperature and heat flux on the boundary, respectively

n j :

Unit vector

υ :

Poisson’s ratio

σ, ε :

Stress tensor and strain tensor, respectively

τ :

Shear stress

θ :

Angle in polar coordinate of crack tip field

δ ij :

Kronecker symbol

λ :

Dimensionless Biot number

ς :

Elastic constant depending on υ

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Acknowledgements

The authors are most grateful to the financial support provided by Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program (Grant No. 2020YJ0307) and China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) (Grant No. 2018-K9-004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Deep Underground Science and Engineering (Ministry of Education), School of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Zhiyu Wang & Qinghong Shi

  2. Southwest Branch of China Construction Eighth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., Chengdu, 610041, China

    Ligang Qi & Jinsheng Zhan

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  1. Zhiyu Wang
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Correspondence to Zhiyu Wang.

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All data generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.

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Wang, Z., Shi, Q., Qi, L. et al. Analysis of Stress Intensity Factor for Cracked Non-load-carrying Fillet Welded Joint Under High-Temperature Tensile Loading. Arab J Sci Eng 48, 4381–4392 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-022-06955-7

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