A Study of the Stress State in Stress Concentration Zones Under Tension of an Asymmetrically Reinforced Butt-Welded Joint

Abstract

An analytical method for the description of the stress state in stress concentration zones under tension of an asymmetrically reinforced butt-welded joint has been developed, which takes into account the effect of the reinforcement on the face side on the stress distribution near the root reinforcement. The broken section hypothesis was taken as a basis of the proposed method. Mathematical relationships describing the variation of the first principal stress in concentration zones both along the contour of the root reinforcement fillet and over the joint depth have been established. Formulas for the determination of stress concentration factor at the bottom of the root reinforcement as a function of the characteristics of corresponding broken section have been derived. For a butt-welded joint of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy as an example, which was made by consumable electrode argon-arc welding on a removable pad, it was shown that the stress concentration factor on the root side of the joint may be lower than that on the face side, which is corroborated by the results of high-cycle fatigue tests.