Parametric equations for notch stress concentration factors of rib—deck welds under bending loading

The effective notch stress approach for evaluating the fatigue strength of rib—deck welds requires notch stress concentration factors obtained from complex finite element analysis. To improve the efficiency of the approach, the notch stress concentration factors for three typical fatigue-cracking modes (i.e., root—toe, root—deck, and toe—deck cracking modes) were thoroughly investigated in this study. First, we developed a model for investigating the effective notch stress in rib—deck welds. Then, we performed a parametric analysis to investigate the effects of multiple geometric parameters of a rib—deck weld on the notch stress concentration factors. On this basis, the multiple linear stepwise regression analysis was performed to obtain the optimal regression functions for predicting the notch stress concentration factors. Finally, we employed the proposed formulas in a case study. The notch stress concentration factors estimated from the developed formulas show agree well with the finite element analysis results. The results of the case study demonstrate the feasibility and reliability of the proposed formulas. It also shows that the fatigue design curve of FAT225 seems to be conservative for evaluating the fatigue strength of rib—deck welds.