• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.75-86
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• 2020

The grid structures with welded hollow spherical joint (WHSJ) have gained increasing popularity for use in industrial buildings with suspended cranes, and usually welded with steel tube (ST). The fatigue performance of steel tube-welded hollow spherical joint (ST-WHSJ) is however not yet well characterized, and there is little research on fatigue life prediction methods of ST-WHSJ. In this study, based on previous fatigue tests, three series of specimen fatigue data with different design parameters and stress ratios were compared, and two fatigue failure modes were revealed: failure at the weld toe of the ST and the WHSJ respectively. Then, S-N curves of nominal stress were uniformed. Furthermore, a finite element model (FEM) was validated by static test, and was introduced to assess fatigue behavior with the hot spot stress method (HSSM) and the effective notch stress method (ENSM). Both methods could provide conservative predictions, and these two methods had similar results. However, ENSM, especially when using von Mises stress, had a better fit for the series with a non- positive stress ratio. After including the welding residual stress and mean stress, analyses with the local stress method (LSM) and the critical distance method (CDM, including point method and line method) were carried out. It could be seen that the point method of CDM led to more accurate predictions than LSM, and was recommended for series with positive stress ratios.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.346-351
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• 2018

Metal three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies are mainly classified as powder bed fusion (PBF) and direct energy deposition (DED) methods according to the method of application of a laser beam to metallic powder. The DED method can be used to fabricate fine and hard 3D metallic structures by applying a strong laser beam to a thin layer of metallic powder. The PBF method involves slicing 3D graphics to be a certain height, laminating metal powders, and making a 3D structure using a laser. While the DED method has advantages such as laser cladding and metallic welding, it causes problems with low density when 3D shapes are created. The PBF method was introduced to address the structural density issues in the DED method and makes it easier to produce relatively dense 3D structures. In this paper, thin lines were produced by using PBF 3D printers with stainless-steel powder of roughly $30{\mu}m$ in diameter with a galvano scanner and fiber-transferred Nd:YAG laser beam. Experiments were carried out to find the optimal conditions for the width of a line depending on the processing times, laser power, spot size, and scan speed. The optimal conditions were two scanning processes in one line structure with a laser power of 30 W, spot size of $28.7{\mu}m$, and scan speed of 200 mm/s. With these conditions, a minimum width of about $85.3{\mu}m$ was obtained.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.387-393
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• 2021

In this study, finite element analysis was performed to evaluate a method of increasing the fatigue life of the pipe connection structure commonly used in the topside structure of offshore platforms. MSC Patran/Nastran, a commercial analysis program, was used, and the critical structural model was selected from the global analysis. To realize the stress concentration phenomenon according to the load, modeling using 8-node solid elements was implemented. The main loads were considered to be two lateral loads and a tensile load on a diagonal pipe. To check the hotspot stress at the main location, a 0.01 mm dummy shell element was applied. After calculating the main stress at the 0.5-t and 1.5-t locations, the stress generated in the weld was estimated through extrapolation. In some sections, this stress was observed to be below the fatigue life that should be satisfied, and reinforcement was required. For reinforcement, a bracket was added to reduce the stress concentration factor where the fatigue life was insufficient without changing the thickness or diameter of the previously designed pipe. Regarding the tensile load, the stress in the bracket toe increased by 23 %, whereas the stress inside and outside of the pipe, which was a problem, decreased by approximately 8 %. Regarding the flexural load, the stress at the bracket toe increased by 3 %, whereas the stress inside and outside of the pipe, which was also a problem, decreased by approximately 48 %. Owing to the new bracket reinforcement, the stress in the bracket toe increased, but the S-N curve itself was better than that of the pipe joint, so it was not a significant problem. The improvement method of fatigue life is expected to be useful; it can efficiently increase the fatigue life while minimizing changes to the initial design.