Abstract
This paper deals with the evaluation of fatigue cracks under a concentrated compression (wheel) load in an I-section with full penetration welds between the web and flange. The objective is to investigate whether cracks stop or nearly stop when they have grown through the residual tensile stress field.These experimental investigations are part of a review of a crane runway girder where after 20years of service fatigue cracks were observed in the flange at the toe of the full penetration weld. The fatigue analysis of the actual crane runway girder is described in (Wardenier et al., 2017).The fatigue tests under a concentrated wheel compression loading show that, for the specimens considered on a scale of about 1:2 with stiffeners at one side, the cracks only initiate and grow at the non-stiffened side to about 50 to 60% of the web thickness and then stop. Based only on the nominal stress range under the wheel, determined according to EN 1993-6 and neglecting the shear stress effect, an equivalent fatigue class of about 160N/mm2 was found for crack initiation in the web, whereas the minimum ratio in life between visually observed crack initiation and maximum crack length was about a factor 3.Comparison of the codes for a wheel loading in compression shows large discrepancies in effective width and fatigue classes to be used.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
