Fatigue analysis of butt welded AH36 steel joints: Thermographic Method and design S– N curve

• Published in: Marine structures Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 373 - 386
• Main Authors: Crupi, V., Guglielmino, E., Maestro, M., Marinò, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Design codes; Exact sciences and technology; Fatigue strength prediction; Ground, air and sea transportation, marine construction; Marine construction; Ship design; Thermographic Method; Welded joints; Ship design; Thermographic Method; Welded joints; Fatigue strength prediction; Design codes; Experimental study; Forecast model; Design; Experimental result; Fatigue test; Welded joint; Fatigue strength; Shipbuilding; Butt weld; Thermography
• ISSN: 0951-8339; 1873-4170
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marstruc.2009.03.001

The traditional methods of fatigue assessment of welded joints have some limitations, and are extremely time consuming. In order to overcome these difficulties, the Thermographic Method (TM), based on thermographic analyses, has been applied to predict the fatigue behaviour of butt welded joints, made of AH36 steel, largely used in shipbuilding. Experimental tests have been carried out to assess the fatigue capability in terms of S– N curves and fatigue limits. The predictions of the fatigue capability obtained resorting to the Thermographic Method show a good agreement with those derived from the traditional procedure. Moreover, the fatigue design recommendations were compared to the experimental data in order to analyse the reliability of the codes.