Stress range in the welded cruciform joint in the shell model using the Hot Spot Stress Method

This paper focuses on the linear extrapolation procedure for the Hot Spot Stress Method on a platés surface using shell models. Published papers have shown the benefits of solving the fatigue life by methodologies that integrate changes of the stress near the weld toe. This procedure is based on modelling the joints by solid elements. Current advanced connection models for steel structures are based on shell models which save computational time by an order of magnitude and allow the modelling of structural joints in a sufficiently short time using second‐order theory.

Seven models for making shell welded connections are presented here, each of which was prepared for a specific joint. Many researchers have reported that non‐universality and deviations of the stress peak value in the first extrapolation point are major questions. A sensitivity study has indicated that there is a conditional stable ratio between the values of the stress ranges in the two evaluation points. A comparison between cases, that use experimental parameters and results taken from the literature, has shown that there is a reduction in the differences of the stress ranges between solid and shell models.