Stress magnification effect of initial deformation on the notch stress field and fatigue strength of thin plate welded joints

Compared with thick plate welded joint, the welding joint of thin plate will produce initial deformation due to its low bending rigidity. The existence of initial deformation will cause the welded structure to produce secondary bending effect, which will produce greater stress magnification effect at the weld toe and seriously affect the fatigue strength of thin plate welded joints. Therefore, based on the correction formula of thick plate, considering the influence of initial deformation and geometric nonlinearity of thin plate, this paper deduces the stress magnification factor formula at the weld toe of T-shaped and cruciform specimens. The accuracy of the revised formula is further verified by comparing the notch stress calculated by the modified formula with the FE results. Finally, the modified formula is applied to the notch stress and fatigue evaluation of typical thin plate welded joints respectively. The results show that the proposed notch stress calculation formula can fully consider the stress amplification effect of thin plate structure, and can be used to quickly evaluate the notch stress field and fatigue strength of thin plate welded joints.