TY - JOUR A1 - Zerbst, Uwe T1 - Foreword JF - Engineering fracture mechanics N2 - The subject of this Special Issue is the fracture mechanics-based determination of the fatigue strength of weldments. Except for one, all papers were written in closer or wider relation to a methodology developed within the framework of the German Project cluster IBESS. Some of them provide background or supplementary information needed in that context but which is also relevant in a wider frame of research activities. The acronym IBESS stands for the topic of this Special Issue (in German: „Integrale Methode zu Bruchmechanischen Ermittlung der Schwingfestigkeit von Schweißverbindungen). Eight partners were involved. The cluster was cooperatively founded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and by the German AiF Network (Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen) for industrial research. KW - Fracture mechanics PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2018.05.046 SN - 0013-7944 VL - 198 IS - SI SP - 1 EP - 1 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-48696 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zerbst, Uwe A1 - Madia, Mauro A1 - Schork, B. A1 - Kaffenberger, M. A1 - Oechsner, M. A1 - Kucharzcyk, P. A1 - Hensel, J. A1 - Bernhard, J. A1 - Tchuindjang, D. T1 - The effect of the local and global weld geometry as well as material defects on crack initiation and fatigue strength JF - Engineering Fracture Mechanics N2 - The paper provides an application of the IBESS approach to the investigation of the influence of various parameters of the global and local weld geometry as well as material defects on the fatigue strength of weldments. For this purpose, the global weld parameters, such as the weld toe radius, the flank angle, the excess weld metal, local secondary notches (in the present study as a measure of surface imperfections) and inclusions sizes have been determined as statistical distributions for different joint types and geometries and two steels of different strengths. The results are in line with literature data and reveal the potential of the theoretical approach to predict the correct trends. The combination with an advanced weld quality system has been demonstrated to be possible. KW - Weldments KW - Fatigue strength KW - Fracture mechanics KW - Weld geometry KW - Inclusions KW - Multiple crack initiation PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2017.07.001 SN - 0013-7944 SN - 1873-7315 VL - 198 SP - 103 EP - 122 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-46858 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zerbst, Uwe A1 - Madia, Mauro A1 - Vormwald, M. A1 - Beier, T. T1 - Fatigue strength and fracture mechanics - A general perspective JF - Engineering fracture mechanics N2 - Common fracture mechanics based fatigue considerations are usually limited to the residual lifetime determination of so-called long cracks. The extension of this concept to the total lifetime, as in the S-N curve approach, requires an adequate description of short crack propagation which cannot be based on the Delta K concept, and it must consider the crack closure phenomenon as well as its gradual build-up at the short crack stage. Further, it has to provide a meaningful definition of initial crack dimensions and a solution for the multiple crack problem at stress levels higher than the fatigue limit as it is specific for some configurations such as weldments. This paper aims at a discussion of all these points and offers possible solutions which are illustrated by examples taken from the German IBESS project on fracture mechanics based determination of the fatigue strength of weldments, the results of which will be discussed in more detail in this Special issue. KW - Fatigue strength KW - Endurance limit KW - Fracture mechanics KW - Short crack propagation KW - Multiple cracking KW - Weldments PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2017.04.030 SN - 0013-7944 SN - 1873-7315 VL - 198 SP - 2 EP - 23 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-46862 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -