An analytical SCF solution method for joint misalignments and application in fatigue test data interpretation

In this study, we first present a general analytical method for calculating stress concentration factors in a cruciform connection containing either axial or angular misalignment between two intercostal members through an application of Castigliano's second theorem. As such, various end restraint conditions of interest in practice can be considered with ease. Such a solution method provides stress concentration factors at intersection location not only with respect to intercostal members, but also with respect to continuous members. A comprehensive set of SCF solutions, confirmed by finite element solutions, are then presented in tabular forms which can be used as supplements to the existing SCF solutions such as those given in BS 7910 and DNV-RP-C203 for performing fatigue and fracture assessment of welded connections. Some of the existing solutions are shown to be valid only under a narrower set of conditions than documented and some seem to be in significant error. As a further demonstration of the validity of the analytical approach presented in this paper, the same analytical formulation is applied for examining interaction effects between misalignments and fatigue testing conditions, resulting in significantly improved correlation of fatigue test data obtained as a part of this study.