PSI - Issue 75

Per-Olof Danielsson et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 75 (2025) 572–580 Per-Olof Danielsson et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia (2025)

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1. Introduction Efficient design, analysis, and production of welded structures represent core competencies at Volvo CE. Heavy vehicles, such as articulated haulers, see Fig. 1, contain lots of welds, making advancements in fatigue design and manufacturing crucial to overall business performance.

Fig. 1. (a) An articulated hauler in operation. (b). Welded load carrying structure of an articulated hauler.

As industry demands evolve rapidly, traditional incremental improvements are no longer sufficient. Shorter product development cycles, stricter sustainability targets, and increasing requirements for structural optimization necessitate innovative approaches. This paper focuses specifically on fatigue assessment of weld roots. The root side of single sided fillet welds is particularly relevant due to its critical role in structural integrity and limited accessibility during inspection and post-processing. Fatigue at the weld toe is addressed in a separate, ongoing research program and is not within the scope of this paper. A comprehensive breakdown, from the complete machine to a common local weld detail, is illustrated in Fig. 2. W4T addresses several key limitations associated with traditional methods for the design, analysis, and production of welded structures, including: • Resource-intensive and time-consuming workflows required to achieve high-performance welded structures. • Insufficient consideration of critical stress conditions, such as stress gradients, crack-driving stresses along potential crack paths, singular stress concentrations, and weld residual stresses.

Fig. 2. Breakdown from the complete machine to a common local weld detail.