TY - JOUR A1 - Vecchiato, L. A1 - Madia, Mauro A1 - Meneghetti, G. T1 - Extension of the peak stress method to estimate the fatigue limit of welded joints by means of the cyclic R-curve method JF - Theoretical and applied fracture mechanics N2 - A new simplified and effective method has been formalised to estimate the Constant Amplitude Fatigue Limit (CAFL) of stress-relieved steel welded joints subjected to uniaxial push–pull loading and failing from the weld toe. Starting from the sharp V-notch assumption of the NSIF approach and the cyclic R-curve of the material in the heat affected zone, the proposed method identifies the CAFL as threshold level of the local stress field at the V-notched weld toe in the uncracked configuration. Such threshold stress field assures the crack arrest at the V-notched weld toe, according to the cyclic R-curve analysis. The method has been validated against experimental results and proved effective for a straightforward assessment of the CAFL of welded joints, as the stable crack propagation analysis of classical fracture mechanics approaches can be avoided. KW - Cyclic R-curve KW - Welded joint KW - Fatigue limit KW - Peak stress method KW - Finite element analysis PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-581059 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tafmec.2023.104039 SN - 0167-8442 VL - 127 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-58105 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -