A review of the notch rounding approach under in plane mixed mode loading

Abstract

The fictitious notch rounding approach is widely used for the fatigue assessment of welded joints and for this reason in the present paper a review of the concept applied to inclined lateral V-notches with root hole subjected to in-plane mixed mode loading has been carried out. This is the basis for future applications to welded structures in presence of mixed mode loading.The analytical framework of the method is herein recalled and the fictitious notch radius is determined as a function of the real notch radius, the microstructural support length and the notch opening angle. In order to reduce the complexity of the task, we adopt a method based on the normal stress failure criterion. The method provides the values of the microstructural support factor as a function of the mode mixity parameter and the notch-opening angle. Moreover, the support factor is assumed independent of the microstructural support length. Finite element simulations for various notch shape and configurations are compared to experimental data from pointed V-notches made of polymethylmethacrylate. The model prediction showed good agreement with the experimental results. These results are very promising for the application to welded structures.