Fatigue life prediction of spot welded components

This paper addresses two key issues in the fatigue life prediction of spot welded components: 1. methods of FE modelling of the weld nugget and, 2. parameters which can be used to correlate and predict the fatigue data of spot welded components. A comparison of different modelling methods for a nugget was carried out, leading to a recommendation for a model which gives accurate predictions whilst maintaining computing efficiency. Fatigue test data of spot welded specimens of different geometries or types has been correlated in terms of stresses near a nugget. Results show that the correct choice of stress parameter can collapse the fatigue test data into a reasonably narrow band. Further investigations are needed, covering a wider range of specimen and component geometries.