Static and fatigue analysis of three types of aluminium box-stiffener/web frame connections

Static and fatigue behaviour of three types of aluminium box-stiffener/web connections are investigated in this study. The main purposes are to provide a connection solution that can reduce the fabrication costs by changing the cutting shapes on the web frame and correspondingly the weld process and meanwhile sufficient fatigue strength can be achieved. Finite element analyses (FEA) show the influence of local geometry and weld parameters on the stress gradient near the fatigue cracking area. The influence of the weld parameters on the structural stress concentration factors is also studied. Twelve specimens of every type were tested and the test data are compared both to a nominal stress based design SN curve Eurocode9/31 and a structural stress based design SN curve Eurocode9/44.