Recent progress in computational predictions on fatigue and fracture resistance of steel connection joints

Steel structures are often subjected to cyclic loads, and sometimes to monotonic overloads, during the technical lifetime, which causes their performance degradation. Incidentally, they undergo progressive collapse, especially due to local failure of connections or joints. To ensure the overall integrity of the steel structures and to make sure the efficient transfer of the load between different components, it is necessary to evaluate the ultimate capacity and fatigue resistance of steel connections. Advances in material modelling and well‐controlled experiments at various scales in recent years have increased confidence in the finite element method as an effective way to predict the ultimate resistance and fatigue life. On examples of two common steel connections: bolted connection and welded connection, the recent progress will be presented in ductile fracture and fatigue crack initiation and propagation simulation.