Evaluation of Crack Initiation Points of Load-Carrying CruciformWelded Joints Based on Effective Notch Stress Approac

For fatigue assessment, recently effective notch stress (ENS) approach is accepted asa valid alternative to fracture mechanics approaches in Japan. However, at least one studyshowed that the fatigue assessment at weld root of load-carrying cruciform welded joints basedon ENS approach does not capture the influence of plate thickness, weld size and weldpenetration. Consequently, there are still uncertainties about the fatigue assessment. This paperdiscusses the evaluation method of the joints based on ENS approach. Effects of weld size, weldpenetration, and plate thickness on ENS are determined by using fine-meshed FEM analyses.Validity of this method is determined by comparing the evaluation results with fracturemechanics approach. It is shown that results from this method are comparable to those of theprevious study and the results seem to be conservative when ratio of weld penetration to platethickness becomes smaller and plate thickness becomes larger.