Load effects for fatigue design of web-to-flange welded detail in corrugated web girders

Book chapter, 2025

This study investigates load effects relevant to the fatigue design of I-girders with corrugated webs, focusing on hot-spot stress concentration factors at the flange-to-web welded detail. Previous research identified load effects at the flange-web connection at the corrugation corner, where cracks commonly initiate. These include membrane stress, transverse flange bending from: the web’s uneven contribution to section modulus, shear flow, and corrugation asymmetry around the flange centerline. While the transverse bending has been studied, its integration into fatigue design has not been addressed. This study fills that gap through finite element analysis and experimental work on a Duplex 1.4162 corrugated web beam, examining how transverse bending influences hot-spot stress at potential crack initiation locations. Results show that transverse bending alters stress distribution along the flange, increasing stress on one side, which may create more critical crack initiation points on that side. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the same stress concentration factor can be applied to both transverse bending and membrane stress, suggesting the combination of their effects to predict fatigue life using S-N curves derived without considering shear-induced transverse bending.