Evaluation of Fatigue Strength Improvement of Ship Structural Details by Weld Toe Grinding

摘要

In order to strengthen or repair the welded structural members or fatigue damaged areas, various surface treatment methods such as grinding, shot peening and/or hammer peening are commonly employed among other methods available. While the weld toe grinding method is known to give 3～4 times of fatigue strength improvement, this improvement may significantly vary according to weld bead shapes and loading modes. In this context, a series of fatigue tests is carried out for three types of test specimens that are typically found in ship structures. Weld burr grinding is carried out using an electric grinder in order to remove surface defects and improve weld bead profiles. The test results are compared with the same type of test specimen without applying the fatigue improvement technique in order to obtain a quantitative measure of the fatigue strength improvement. Moreover, structural stress method is employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the method in evaluating the fatigue strength improvement of welded structures.