Issue 60

D. D ’ Angela et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 60 (2022) 265-272; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.60.18

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 3: The influence of (a) material (models m, M1, and M2), (b) structure geometry (models m, G1, and G2), and (c) pre-crack shape/dimension (models m, C1, and C2) on the S-N results.

C ONCLUSIONS

he study supplied simple but reliable three-dimensional modelling and cyclic analysis to simulate crack propagation in welded bridge details subjected to fatigue loading. The approach is based on XFEM technology coupled with LCF approach. S-N curves are provided for a wide range of welded bridge details. The numerical results are compared with both experimental results related to past studies and design curves provided by the regulations. Best-fit S-N curves are developed for enhancing the literature database. The study proves that the developed approach is suitable for various and complex applications, and it can be considered as a reference for similar implementations. T

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