Determination of notch factors for welded T-joints based on numerical analysis and metamodeling

The effective notch stress approach to estimate fatigue strength of welded components requires stress concentration factors of an idealized weld geometry using fictitious notch radii. This paper covers the estimation of those stress concentration factors for welded T-joints in different configurations. In comparison with different existing estimations, new methods using metamodeling by (a) the response surface method based on polynomial regression using coupling terms and (b) based on artificial neural networks are presented. The methods were trained by a large database of reference results obtained by finite element analysis. Besides higher quality of prognosis, the new metamodels enhance the range of allowable parameters of the T-joints compared to existing ones. The resulting methods provide means of obtaining stress concentration factors fast and of sufficient quality which could also be embedded in more complex applications as programmed solutions.