Finite element modeling for reliability evaluation of fatigue cracking at welded connections

摘要

Finite element modeling is used as a basis for characterizing the initiation andgrowth of fatigue cracking at welded connections for input to probabilistic based reliability evaluations.The objective of the reliability study is to determine the optimum time for replacing thestructure as opposed to continued maintenance costs from an economic standpoint but with structuralsafety as a basis. The finite element modeling is used to characterize the fatigue crack initiationand growth rates over a range of variations in loading and material conditions so that samplingwith random values can establish failure rates and hazard functions.