The weld is often a very small element compared to the overall structure of which it is a part. For this reason, it is not always easy to determine the exact stresses present in the weld using finite element analysis. As part of a project to determine the fatigue strength of a welded structure, our numerical simulation and welding teams combined their skills to first use finite element calculations to determine the stress at several points in the weld groove cross-section for different stress levels, and then to calculate the theoretical life of the weld according to EUROCODE 3.
