CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Undercut formation affects fatigue strength of welded joints, since it constitutes a notch at the weld toe. The importance of these defects in welded structures demands accurate prediction of fatigue lifetime. Detrimental effects of undercuts are governed by stress concentration, which is characterised by notch depth and root radius. From this standpoint, numerical simulations of transversely stressed butt-joints were performed. Relationship between undercut geometry and fatigue strength of butt-welded joints was studied by means of a fracture mechanics approach. Recommendations for the acceptance of weld undercuts and comparison with current standard tolerances were discussed.