Assessment of SIFs of Flanges in Corrugated Web Steel Beams with Crack-Arrest Holes via an Experimentally Validated FE Modeling

For the corrugated web steel beam, the web-to-flange welded detail by geometric discontinuity plays a vital role of the stress concentration-related fatigue fracture and failure mechanism. A study of the influences of the geometries of the crack-arrest hole on the stress intensity factor and related fracture behavior is presented in this research. The source of local stress concentration is investigated through finite element modeling and compared against experimentally measured strain results first to confirm the accuracy of analysis. Additional flank-holes symmetrically distributed on both sides of the crack tip are also considered for further reducing the crack driving force. The study shows that the introduction of the additional flank-hole is beneficial for further reduction of the stress concentration near the crack tip. Moreover, the inside of the crack-arrest hole is more efficient than the outside ones in reducing the stress intensity factor, while the use of bigger hole is recommended for the halting of short crack with the crack tip away from the edge of the flange. The further arrangement of the additional flank-hole within the crack seam range is beneficial in better reduction of the stress intensity factor for the models with the crack-arrest holes only. The shorter the distance of the additional flank-hole from the crack tip is, and the larger its radius is, the greater crack halting effect becomes.