Stress Concentration Factors for Non-Load-Carrying Welded Cruciform Joints Subjected to Tension, Bending, and Shear

This paper deals with the problem of stress concentration at the weld toe of non-load-carrying-type plate cruciform joints under tension, bending, and shear. Theoretical stress concentration factors were derived using the finite element method. Five of the most important geometrical parameters: the thickness of the main plate and the attachments, the weld throat thickness, the weld toe radius, and the weld face inclination angle were treated as independent variables. For each loading mode-tension, bending, and shear-parametric expression of high accuracy was obtained, covering the range used in real structures for cruciform connections. The maximum percentage error was lower than 2.5% as compared to numerical values. The presented solutions proved to be valid for the toe radius ρ tending to zero.