Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences 1(20): 119 127 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1943-6114 InternationalJournal.

org

Finite Element Analysis of Effect of Weld Toe Radius and Root Gap on Fatigue Life of T-Fillet Welded Joint
Tolga Mert, Yildiz Technical University, Turkey

Abstract: Mechanical assemblies and parts that are in service may be subject to high stresses and cyclical loads, which make fatigue life estimation extremely crucial. Today, finite element analysis method is widely used in industry and research institutions in order to predict lifespan of mechanical components. In this study, commercial finite element analysis software, Ansys, was used for a parametric study to research the effect of weld toe radius and root gap in T-fillet welded joint on fatigue life.

1. Introduction
In metal constructions, machine assemblies, shipbuilding and other heavy industries, fillet joint is a widely used structural member (Teng, Fung, Chang, Yang, 2001). Therefore, wide application areas in various structures make this joint attractive for researchers to analyze it under different loading conditions (Balasubramanian, Guha, Swamidas, Seshadri, 2000). Fatigue is damage to components under cyclical loads (Li, Partanen, Nykanen, Bjrk, 2001). In service, often, these kinds of joints are subjected to alternating dynamic loads, which make fatigue behavior and fatigue life estimation of these components extremely important. Stress concentrations usually occur at structural geometry discontinuities, e.g. weld toes, and cracklike defects. These stress concentration sites may serve for crack initiation and cracks that are propagating may lead to failure (Teng, Fung, Chang, 2002). Finite element analysis has been extensively used for analyzing fatigue life of mechanical components. In this study, the effect of weld toe radius and root gap on fatigue life of T-fillet welded joint is researched.

2. Numerical Study
Double T-fillet welded joint that consists of web plate and base plate is modeled in commercial finite element analysis software Ansys v.11. Material that is used in modeling is structural steel and its mechanical properties are shown in table 1. Table 1 Mechanical properties of structural steel

Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences 1(20): 119 127 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1943-6114 InternationalJournal.org

Figure 1 Numerical model of T-fillet joint Base plate is constrained in X and Y directions on one side and on the other side of the plate, it is constrained only in Y direction. Structural steel plate dimensions are 300 x 153 x 13 mm and 153 x 153 x 13 mm for base plate and web plate, respectively. 4 Mpa pressure load is applied onto the top surface of the web plate gradually (ramp function). Load and boundary conditions and pressure application of the model is shown in figure 2 and figure 3, respectively. For fatigue analysis, constant amplitude load is applied fully reversed (vertical push and pull) and is shown in figure 4.

Figure 2 Load and boundary conditions of the model

Figure 3 Application of pressure (ramp function)

Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences 1(20): 119 127 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1943-6114 InternationalJournal.org

Figure 4 Constant amplitude and fully reversed load application graph Three different scenarios are used for weld toe radii, i.e. 0.8 mm, 1.6 mm and 3.2 mm; and three for root gaps, i.e. 1 mm, 3 mm and 6 mm. Model is meshed using quadrilateral solid 45 elements and this element is shown in figure 5. For meshing base plate and web plate, 5 mm and 3 mm element sizes are used, respectively. 8127 elements and 43322 nodes are used in meshed model it is shown in figure 6.

Figure 5 Solid 45 element

Figure 6 Meshed model

Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences 1(20): 119 127 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1943-6114 InternationalJournal.org

After model is meshed, analysis is run with given load and boundary conditions and results, i.e. von-Misses equivalent stress, total deformation, life and safety factor, are obtained. For one case, i.e. 3 mm root gap and 1.6 mm toe radius, the results of the analysis are shown. For other cases, numerical results from the analyses are utilized to plot graphs and compare all the scenarios. In figure 7, von-Misses equivalent stress distribution for T-fillet joint is shown. Maximum stress is at weld toe region and minimum stress is on web plate and the magnitudes are 174 Mpa and 24.2 Kpa, respectively.

Figure 7 von-Misses equivalent stress distribution for 3 mm root gap and 1.6 mm toe radius Figure 8 shows total deformation on the joint. Since the base plate is constrained in X and Y directions and web plate is not fixed, total deformation is minimum on the fixed support (left) and maximum on the web plate due to push-pull effect of the pressure load.

Figure 8 Total deformation plot for 3 mm root gap and 1.6 mm toe radius For 109 cycles design life, life plot for T-fillet welded joint is shown in figure 9. As expected, minimum life of 42644 cycles is obtained at weld toe.

Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences 1(20): 119 127 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1943-6114 InternationalJournal.org

Figure 9 Life plot for 3 mm root gap and 1.6 mm toe radius Safety factor of 15 means that design life is reached and factor of safety below 1 means that failure occurs before design life is reached. For 3 mm root gap and 1.6 mm toe radius, minimum factor of safety is 0.495 and at weld toe, which makes it critical for crack initiation.

Figure 10 Safety factor plot for 3 mm root gap and 1.6 mm toe radius After running analyses for other cases (other root gap and weld toe radius combinations), the results were obtained for von-Misses equivalent stress, total deformation, life and factor of safety. Maximum von-Misses equivalent stresses versus 1 mm, 3 mm and 6 mm root gaps and 0.8 mm, 1.6 mm and 3.2 mm toe radii are plot in figure 11. Maximum total deformation, life and factor of safety of T-fillet joint are plot in figures 12, 13 and 14, respectively.

Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences 1(20): 119 127 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1943-6114 InternationalJournal.org

Max. von-Misses Equivalent Stress vs. Root Gap & Toe Radius
400 350
Stress (Mpa)

343 323 278 140 174 122 232 173 141 0.8 mm toe radius 1.6 mm toe radius 3.2 mm toe radius

300 250 200 150 100 50 0

3 Root Gap (mm)

Figure 11 Maximum von-Misses equivalent stress plots

Max. Total Deformation vs. Root Gap & Toe Radius

0,324 0,323 0,322 0,321 0,32 0,319 0,318 0,317 1 3 Root Gap (mm) 6

Deformation (mm)

0.8 mm toe radius 1.6 mm toe radius 3.2 mm toe radius

Figure 12 Maximum total deformation plots

Min. Life vs. Root Gap & Toe Radius 160000 150000 140000 130000 120000 110000 100000 90000 80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 156000

Life (cycles)

94392

92890

42644 8285 4320 1 15163

42957 5233

0.8 mm toe radius 1.6 mm toe radius 3.2 mm toe radius

3 Root Gap (mm)

Figure 13 Minimum life plots

Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences 1(20): 119 127 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1943-6114 InternationalJournal.org

Min. Factor of Safety vs. Root Gap & Toe Radius 0,8 0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0 0,706 0,615 0,495 0,309 0,25 0,371 0,496 0,266 0,612
0.8 mm toe radius 1.6 mm toe radius 3.2 mm toe radius

Safety Factor

3 Root Gap (mm)

Figure 14 Minimum factor of safety plots

3. Results and Discussion

Maximum von-Misses equivalent stress plots show that maximum stress is at weld toe with a magnitude of 343 Mpa for the joint with 1 mm root gap and 0.8 mm toe radius. This magnitude drops to 232 Mpa for 3 mm root gap and again raises up to 323 Mpa for 6 mm root gap. Similar trend is obtained for 1.6 and 3.2 mm toe radii with lower stress values. For 3.2 mm toe radius and 1 mm root gap, maximum stress which is 140 Mpa, is significantly smaller than that for 0.8 mm toe radius. When toe radius of 0.8 mm is doubled, stress magnitude is lowered by 19% and when it is quadrupled, stress is down by 57%. Maximum total deformation values that are given in figure 12 are almost identical. These may be due to highly constrained joint, i.e. boundary conditions. Minimum life plots show that maximum life is 156000 cycles for 3 mm root gap and 3.2 mm toe radius and minimum life is 4320 cycles for 1 mm root gap and 0.8 mm toe radius. When toe radius is doubled for this scenario, minimum life is increased 91% percent and when it is quadrupled, life is improved more than 20 times. When toe radius of 0.8 mm is quadrupled, minimum life increases more than 9 times and 19 times for 3 mm and 6 mm root gaps, respectively. Contrary to this, when root gap gets bigger, firstly, life improves but then reduces. Based on scenarios that were analyzed and according to life plots, 3 mm root gap with 3.2 mm toe radius is the most effective design. Factor of safety below 1 means that failure occurs before design life is reached. Therefore, for a given design life of 1 billion cycles, areas with a factor of safety less than 1 will fail. For 0.8 mm toe radius, factor of safety is 0.25, 0.371 and 0.266 for 1 mm, 3 mm and 6 mm root gaps, respectively. For 1 mm root gap, when toe radius is quadrupled, safety factor increases 1.5 times and for 3 mm root gap, factor of safety is almost doubled. Safety factor decreases by increasing root gap from 3mm to 6 mm. Similar trend is observed for all cases. Since maximum stresses increase from 3 mm to 6 mm root gap, their negative effect is easily examined in life and safety factor analyses.

Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences 1(20): 119 127 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1943-6114 InternationalJournal.org

4. Conclusion
Maximum von-Misses equivalent stresses occur at weld toes in all cases. Small toe radii promote stress concentration and crack initiation. Small and big root gaps also contribute to stress concentration and residual stresses. Medium sized root gap and biggest toe radius is the best design in terms of equivalent stresses. Maximum total deformation values are almost identical, which may be due to high constraints and structural stiffness. The worst scenario in terms of life is 1 mm root gap with 0.8 mm toe radius. Whereas, the best case is 3 mm root gap with 3.2 mm toe radius. When root gap is bigger than a critical value, the life begins to decrease, which is in agreement with stress analysis. Medium sized root gap and bigger toe radius is the best available choice in terms of fatigue design. Similar trend is also observed for factor of safety. When root gap is smaller or bigger than a certain value, safety factor is small. In addition to this, biggest safety factors are achieved with biggest toe radii. Therefore, again, the best choice with regard to fatigue design is medium root gap and biggest toe radius combination. In real life experiments it has been proved that toe dressing with Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding process and introducing compressive stresses using ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT) help to increase fatigue life (Haagensen, Statnikov, Martinez, 1998).

References
Balasubramanian, V., Guha, B., Swamidas, A.S.J., Seshadri, R. (2000). Influences of shielded metal arc welded cruciform joint dimensions on toe crack failures of pressure vessel grade, Engineering Failure Analysis 7, pp. 169-179 Teng, T. L., Fung, C. P., Chang, P. H., Yang, W. C. (2001). Analysis of residual stresses and distortion in T-joint fillet welds, International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping, 78, pp. 523-538 Teng, T. L., Fung, C. P., Chang, P. H. (2002). Effect of weld geometry and residual stresses on fatigue in butt-welded joints, International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping, 79, pp. 467482 Li, X. Y., Partanen, T., Nykanen, T., Bjrk, T. (2001). Finite element analysis of the effect of weld geometry and load condition on fatigue strength of lap joint, International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping, 78, 591-597 Haagensen, P. J., Statnikov, E. S., Martinez, L. L. (1998). Introductory fatigue tests on welded joints in high strength steel and aluminium improved by various methods including ultrasonic impact treatment, IIW Doc. XIII-1748-98

Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences 1(20): 119 127 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1943-6114 InternationalJournal.org

Hancq, D. A., Fatigue Analysis in the Ansys Workbench Environment, Ansys Inc., May 2003. Lawarence, K. L., Ansys Workbench Tutorial, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington Ansys 11 Manual. Tsai, C. L., Welding Engineering Design Course Notes, Ohio State University