Fracture and Fatigue of Welded Joints and Structures

Book excerpt: The failure of any welded joint is at best inconvenient and at worst can lead to catastrophic accidents. Fracture and fatigue of welded joints and structures analyses the processes and causes of fracture and fatigue, focusing on how the failure of welded joints and structures can be predicted and minimised in the design process.Part one concentrates on analysing fracture of welded joints and structures, with chapters on constraint-based fracture mechanics for predicting joint failure, fracture assessment methods and the use of fracture mechanics in the fatigue analysis of welded joints. In part two, the emphasis shifts to fatigue, and chapters focus on a variety of aspects of fatigue analysis including assessment of local stresses in welded joints, fatigue design rules for welded structures, k-nodes for offshore structures and modelling residual stresses in predicting the service life of structures.With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, Fracture and fatigue of welded joints and structures is an essential reference for mechanical, structural and welding engineers, as well as those in the academic sector with a research interest in the field. - Analyses the processes and causes of fracture and fatigue, focusing predicting and minimising the failure of welded joints in the design process - Assesses the fracture of welded joints and structure featuring constraint-based fracture mechanics for predicting joint failure - Explores specific considerations in fatigue analysis including the assessment of local stresses in welded joints and fatigue design rules for welded structures