High cycle fatigue of welded structures: Design guidelines validated by case studies

Experience with fatigue failures, of both welded and non-welded details, has demonstrated that the design guidelines in many fatigue codes are inadequate for fabricated equipment that requires a life exceeding 107 cycles. Stress ranges from strain gauge testing and finite element analysis of vibrating screens, combined with the actual life results, have been used to establish design criteria applicable to machinery operating in the giga-cycle range. Case studies from recent investigations are used to illustrate the validity of the design criteria.