PSI - Issue 77

João Nuno Silva et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 77 (2026) 657–664 Joa˜o Nuno Silva et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2026) 000–000

664

8

5. Conclusions

The comparative research shows that the fatigue design codes demonstrate distinct verification philosophies. The ERRI B12 / RP60 code applies a conservative Goodman / Haigh interaction with five simplified notch cases. The EN 1993-1-9 standard and the IIW Recommendations technical code provide generic S–N curve and damage procedures for metallic structures, diverging mainly in multiaxial analysis. The railway applications design codes, such as DVS 1612 code and EN 17149-3 standard, integrate fatigue resistance modifiers related to weld performance (per EN 15085-3 standard), inspection class, and thickness correction. Evaluation of the case-study welds confirms that the codes, DVS 1612 and EN 17149-3, o ff er safe and more reliable verification. The EN 17149-3 standard, in particular, emerges as the most comprehensive reference, synthesizing validated practice from DVS 1612, EN 1993-1-9, and IIW Recommendations, and adding railway-specific modifiers and partial-factor formats. The selection of the reference standard thus significantly impacts verification criteria and safety margins, and should be carefully aligned with project requirements and objectives. This work is a result of Agenda ”Smart Wagons: Development of Production Capacity in Portugal of Smart Wagons for Freight”, nr. C644940527-00000048, investment project nr. 27, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and by European Union - NextGeneration EU, and a result of Agenda NEXUS: Innovation Pact Digital and Green Transition – Transports, Logistics and Mobility, nr. C645112083-00000059, investment project nr. 53, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and by European Union - NextGeneration EU. This research was also supported by: UID / 04708 of the CONSTRUCT - Instituto de I&D em Estruturas e Construc¸o˜es - funded by Fundac¸a˜o para a Cieˆncia e a Tecnologia, I.P. / MCTES through the national funds. EN 12663-1: Railway applications—Structural requirements of railway vehicle bodies. Part 1: Locomotives and passenger rolling stock. European Committee for Standardization, Brussels, 40 pp. 2010. Hu, Y., Wu, S., Withers, P.J., Cao, H., Chen, P., Zhang, Y., Shen, Z., Vojtek, T., Hutaˇr, P., 2021. Corrosion fatigue lifetime assessment of high-speed railway axle EA4T steel with artificial scratch. Engineering Fracture Mechanics 245, 107588. doi:10.1016 / j.engfracmech.2021.107588. Zhu, T., Xiao, S.N., Hu, G.Z., Yang, G.W., Yang, B., Yang, C., 2019. Crashworthiness analysis of the structure of metro vehicles constructed from typical materials and the lumped parameter model of frontal impact. Transport 34(1), 75–88. doi:10.3846 / transport.2019.7552. DVS, 2011. DVS 1608: Design and strength assessment of welded structures from aluminium alloys in railway applications. DVS—German Welding Society, Du¨sseldorf, 3 pp. Jaxa-Rozen, W., 2014. Cold-worked austenitic stainless steels in passenger railcars and in other applications. Thin-Walled Structures 83, 190–199. doi:10.1016 / j.tws.2014.01.027. Milovanovic´, V., Dunic´, V., Rakic´, D., Zˇ ivkovic´, M., 2013. Identification causes of cracking on the underframe of wagon for containers transporta tion—Fatigue strength assessment of wagon welded joints. Engineering Failure Analysis 31, 118–131. doi:10.1016 / j.engfailanal.2013.01.039. Schijve, J., 2009. Fatigue of Structures and Materials . Springer, Dordrecht. doi:10.1007 / 978-1-4020-6808-9. ERRI, 2001. ERRI B 12 / RP 60 (2nd ed.): Tests to demonstrate the strength of railway vehicles. Regulations for proof tests and maximum permissible stresses. European Rail Research Institute, Utrecht. CEN, 2010. EN 12663-2: Railway applications—Structural requirements of railway vehicle bodies. Part 2: Freight wagons. European Committee for Standardization, Brussels. DVS, 2017. DVS 1612: Design and endurance strength analysis of steel welded joints in rail-vehicle construction. DVS—German Welding Society, Du¨sseldorf. EN 1993-1-9: Eurocode 3—Design of steel structures. Part 1-9: Fatigue. European Committee for Standardization, Brussels. 2025. Hobbacher, A.F., Baumgartner, J., 2024. Recommendations for Fatigue Design of Welded Joints and Components (3rd ed.). In: IIW Collection. Springer, Cham. doi:10.1007 / 978-3-031-57667-6. EN 17149-3: Railway applications—Strength assessment of railway vehicle structures. Part 3: Fatigue strength assessment based on cumulative damage. European Committee for Standardization, Brussels. 2025. EN 15085-3, 2023. Railway applications — Welding of railway vehicles and components — Part 3: Design requirements. European Committee for Standardization (CEN), Brussels. References Acknowledgements