Estimation of the resistance to the initiation of fatigue cracks in the welded joints of steel constructions

The problem of choosing an effective approach to determining the fatigue strength of welded butt joints at the stage of crack nucleation is solved. The results of the calculations performed according to the existing building code from the specified strength characteristics and the calculations that take into account local elastoplastic deformation in stress concentration zones are compared. Full-scale specimens of the welded joints of pair angles are tested in the low-cycle fatigue region at a constant load. The kinetics of the state of stress in the zones of terminating flange welded joints is studied by a tensometric method. It is shown that the stage of fatigue crack nucleation is best described using the deformation criterion of fracture: a comparison of the results of calculating the number of cycles to the nucleation of a fatigue crack with experimental data demonstrates good agreement. © 2017, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.