PSI - Issue 75

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Structural Integrity Procedia (2025) 000 – 000 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Structural Integrity Procedia (2025) 000 – 000 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect

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Procedia Structural Integrity 75 (2025) 572–580

© 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of Dr Fabien Lefebvre with at least 2 reviewers per paper © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Fatigue Design 2025 organizers Abstract This paper presents the status of an ongoing comprehensive process innovation — Welded Structures 4 Tomorrow (W4T) — implemented at Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) to address critical limitations in the fatigue design and manufacturing of welded structures. It introduces a new fatigue assessment approach, the Structural Fracture Mechanics (SFM) Method, based on fracture mechanics principles and, in certain cases, extended to include crack initiation modelling. This paper focuses exclusively on weld roots , with weld toes addressed separately in an on-going research program. The SFM approach enables more reliable fatigue life predictions for complex weld geometries while reducing design and simulation effort. The approach is integrated into a broader workflow that includes digitized vehicle load simulations, streamlined Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) to Finite Element Method (FEM) modelling, and modernized manufacturing processes, including robotic dressing for Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding and 3D laser cut ting. The SFM method has been implemented in Volvo CE’s development process, supported by a dedicated toolchain developed in-house for preprocessing, calculation, and postprocessing of fatigue life predictions, and is validated through an extensive test program focused on crack propagation in welds, as well as real-world industrial use in Volvo CE. This integrated approach contributes to shorter development cycles, improved production efficiency, and enhanced structural robustness — aligning with both performance and sustainability goals. © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Fatigue Design 2025 organizers Fatigue Design 2025 (FatDes 2025) Optimizing Welded Structures: A Study on the Implementation of an Efficient Fatigue Analysis Method Per-Olof Danielsson ab *, Magnus Andersson a , Lars Håkansson b , Welf Löwe b a Volvo Construction Equipment, Carl Lihnells väg, SE-363 41 Braås, Sweden b Linnaeus University, Universitetsplatsen 1, 352 52 Växjö, Sweden Abstract This paper presents the status of an ongoing comprehensive process innovation — Welded Structures 4 Tomorrow (W4T) — implemented at Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) to address critical limitations in the fatigue design and manufacturing of welded structures. It introduces a new fatigue assessment approach, the Structural Fracture Mechanics (SFM) Method, based on fracture mechanics principles and, in certain cases, extended to include crack initiation modelling. This paper focuses exclusively on weld roots , with weld toes addressed separately in an on-going research program. The SFM approach enables more reliable fatigue life predictions for complex weld geometries while reducing design and simulation effort. The approach is integrated into a broader workflow that includes digitized vehicle load simulations, streamlined Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) to Finite Element Method (FEM) modelling, and modernized manufacturing processes, including robotic dressing for Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding and 3D laser cut ting. The SFM method has been implemented in Volvo CE’s development process, supported by a dedicated toolchain developed in-house for preprocessing, calculation, and postprocessing of fatigue life predictions, and is validated through an extensive test program focused on crack propagation in welds, as well as real-world industrial use in Volvo CE. This integrated approach contributes to shorter development cycles, improved production efficiency, and enhanced structural robustness — aligning with both performance and sustainability goals. Fatigue Design 2025 (FatDes 2025) Optimizing Welded Structures: A Study on the Implementation of an Efficient Fatigue Analysis Method Per-Olof Danielsson ab *, Magnus Andersson a , Lars Håkansson b , Welf Löwe b a Volvo Construction Equipment, Carl Lihnells väg, SE-363 41 Braås, Sweden b Linnaeus University, Universitetsplatsen 1, 352 52 Växjö, Sweden Keywords: Fatigue analysis; welded structures; Fracture mechanics; Finite element analysis; Automated manufacturing. Keywords: Fatigue analysis; welded structures; Fracture mechanics; Finite element analysis; Automated manufacturing.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +46 79 089 7603. E-mail address: per-olof.danielsson@volvo.com * Corresponding author. Tel.: +46 79 089 7603. E-mail address: per-olof.danielsson@volvo.com

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Fatigue Design 2025 organizers 2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Fatigue Design 2025 organizers

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of Dr Fabien Lefebvre with at least 2 reviewers per paper 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.11.058