Prediction of weld toe magnification factors for semi-elliptical cracks in double T-butt joints

This study investigates on the effects of the 4 parameters – weld angle, attachment footprint width, crack depth and aspect ratio – on the weld toe magnification factor. It consists of two phases, mainly the 3-Dimensional (3-D) modeling and the development of Mk equations. Using the FEA Crack program, a half-symmetric model was created to analyze the crack at two points – crack ends and deepest point of crack- for cases with varying a, c, L and . After which, the stress intensity factor (Lee et.al, 2000) values are obtained from ABAQUS file generated and was expressed in the form of weld toe magnification factor, MK. The loading pattern was also set to be axial loading of 1 MPa. For the development of Mk equations for double T-butt joints, curve fitting software, DataFit was used to create regression models using the Mk values obtained in the earlier part of this study. The equations were chosen and used to calculate a new set of Mk values for each case. After which, comparisons with the actual data was carried out for analysis purposes. In this study, analysis between the existing solutions and the new solutions developed in this study were carried out and suitability of the equations was discussed. Bachelor of Engineering (Civil