Prediction of Fatigue Life of Welded Beam-to-Column

Connections under Earthquake Loading

Jun Iyama1 and James M. Ricles, M.ASCE2
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Abstract: A building may suffer damage during an earthquake as a result of inelastic deformations developed in the members or
connections. It is important that the structural integrity of the building be assessed to ensure the safety of the occupants. This assessment
includes evaluating the ability of the structure to resist the demand from subsequent aftershocks and a major earthquake. In this paper a
practical methodology to determine the low-cycle fatigue life of welded structural steel connections subject to inelastic cyclic loading is
presented. The methodology is based on concepts of low-cycle fatigue and micromechanics, where an accumulated crack length based on
a time history of strain and the corresponding triaxiality stress condition that develops in the structural component is calculated and used
to establish the fatigue life. The methodology was used to predict the fatigue life of welded beam-to-column connection test specimens
subjected to inelastic loading. A comparison with test results indicates that the methodology predicts reasonably well the relationship
between number of cycles to fracture and the plastic rotation range observed in the test specimens.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲0733-9445共2009兲135:12共1472兲
CE Database subject headings: Predictions; Fatigue; Welds; Beam columns; Connections; Earthquake loads.

Introduction
In the design of special moment resistant frames 共SMRFs兲, a
weak beam-strong column design philosophy is used. Plastic
hinges are expected to form in the beams under the design earth-
quake. Recent experimental research on welded beam-to-column
connections in SMRFs has shown that plastic hinges can develop
if proper weld and connection details are used. Some examples
include welded unreinforced flange and web, beam-to-column
connections 共Ricles et al. 2002; Stojadinovic et al. 2000兲, reduced
beam section connections 共Jones et al. 2002; Ricles et al. 2004;
Zhang and Ricles 2006兲, and free-flange connections 共Choi et al.
2003兲. The test specimens in this research were fabricated using
notch-tough electrodes and details specified in accordance with
FEMA 共2000a兲.
During numerous tests performed on welded beam-to-column
connections, researchers noted that cracks developed in the speci-
mens 共Ricles et al. 2002; Ricles et al. 2004; Zhang and Ricles
2006; Stojadinovic et al. 2000兲. These cracks typically occurred at
either the heat affected zone or at the toe of the weld access hole
in the beam flange. The cracks were stable and would grow in
size as the test progressed. In some cases 共Ricles et al. 2002;
Stojadinovic et al. 2000兲, the crack growth led to a low-cycle
fatigue failure of the connection during the test. Some of the
cracks were observed to initiate under a moderate drift demand
共1% storey drift兲, where the seismic hazard is below the design
earthquake. Cracks can cause a low-cycle fatigue failure, where
damage accumulated during an aftershock or the next large earth-
quake can lead to larger cracks and a fracture in the connection.
Welded beam-to-column connections in practice, if inspected,
are typically visually inspected following an earthquake 共FEMA
1995; FEMA 2000b兲. Inspection requires exposing the steel frame
by removing the fire proofing. The detection of small cracks using
visual inspection evaluation methods may not be suitable because
共1兲 the method can be expensive to conduct when a large number
of connections are involved; 共2兲 small cracks may not be found;
and 共3兲 the methods do not consider the accumulation of damage.
Based on these considerations and the need to establish the safety
of a structure following an earthquake, an analytical prediction of
the accumulated damage that can occur in structural elements
subjected to inelastic deformations was developed. The method-
ology uses concepts from low-cycle fatigue and micromechanics,
where an accumulated crack length based on a time history of
strain and the corresponding triaxiality stress condition in a con-
nection that develops a plastic hinge is calculated and used to
estimate its fatigue life. This paper describes the formulation and
presents the results of a validation study involving the prediction
of the low-cycle fatigue strength of connection specimens tested
in the laboratory under inelastic loading.

1
Associate Professor, Dept. of Architecture, Graduate School of En-
gineering, Univ. of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656,
Japan 共corresponding author兲. E-mail: iyama@arch.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
2
Bruce G. Johnson Professor of Structural Engineering, Dept. of Civil
and Environmental Engineering, ATLSS Center, Lehigh Univ., 117
ATLSS Dr., Bethlehem, PA 18015.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on October 12, 2007; approved
on May 11, 2009; published online on November 13, 2009. Discussion
period open until May 1, 2010; separate discussions must be submitted
for individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Structural
Engineering, Vol. 135, No. 12, December 1, 2009. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-
9445/2009/12-1472–1480/$25.00.
Prior Relevant Research
There have been numerous studies to investigate the remaining
strength of damaged structural elements subject to inelastic cyclic
loading. These studies have involved different approaches. Man-
son 共1953兲 and Coffin 共1954兲 used a strain-life 共low-cyclic fa-
tigue兲 approach to show that there is a linear relationship on log-
log scale between plastic strain range ⌬␧ p and number of cycles
to fracture N f of a metallic material subject to thermal cyclic
stress. This relationship is known as the Manson-Coffin relation-
ship and represented as

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J. Struct. Eng. 2009.135:1472-1480.

 ⌬␧ p = bNcf 共1兲
where b and c = material property parameters. This relationship
was established for constant amplitude cyclic loading, but can be
utilized for variable amplitude cyclic loading by applying the lin-
ear damage rule known as Miner’s rule 共Palmgren 1924; Miner
1945兲. Numerous researchers 共Ballio and Castiglioni 1994a;
Krawinkler and Zhorei 1983; Kasai and Xu 2003兲 have applied
this relationship using member plastic deformation response 共e.g.,
plastic deformation displacement ⌬␦ p, rotation ⌬␪ p, and energy
⌬E p兲 in lieu of ⌬␧ p. Design procedures based on low-cycle fa-
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tigue strength were developed by Ballio and Castiglioni 共1994b兲
that use relationships expressed in terms of member plastic defor-
mation range. The parameters b and c for these relationships are
determined experimentally.
Based on the theory of fracture mechanics, crack growth oc-
curs from an existing microcrack or discontinuity, and a fracture
occurs when the crack size reaches a critical length. Solomon
共1972兲 and Krawinkler and Zohrei 共1983兲 used experimental re-
sults to show an empirical relationship between the rate of crack
extension 共da / dN兲 and the plastic strain range, where
da
= ␣a共⌬␧ p兲␤ 共2兲
dN
In Eq. 共2兲, a represents the measured crack length and ⌬␧ p rep-
resents the plastic strain range measured at a distance from the
crack location. ␣ and ␤ are coefficients that are determined ex-
perimentally. ␣ depends on the shape of specimen and the physi-
cal relationship between the crack location and measuring
location where the strain is based. It can be shown 共Ricles et al.
2000兲 that Eq. 共2兲 is similar to Eq. 共1兲 by assuming an initial
crack length a0 and final crack length a f , where ␤ is equal to −1 / c
and ␣ is equal to b−␤ ln共a f / a0兲.
As an alternative, a micromechanical approach based on the
theory for a ductile fracture mechanism has been proposed to
estimate the low-cycle fatigue strength of structures subjected to
seismic loading. Ductile fracture can be explained from the ex-
tension and coalescence of a microvoid. Rice and Tracey 共1969兲
and Chi et al. 共2006兲 showed that the extension rate of void
growth size is dependent on the triaxiality ratio and plastic strain
rate of the material. This model is known as the void growth
model 共VGM兲 共Kanvinde and Deierlein 2004, 2006兲. Based on
the VGM model, Kanvinde and Deierlein 共2004, 2006兲 developed
the stress modified critical strain 共SMCS兲 model, where a ductile
fracture occurs where the plastic strain exceeds the critical plastic
strain at fracture, ␧critical, represented as follows 共Hancock and
p
McKenzie 1976兲:
␧critical
p 冉
= A exp − 1.5
␴m
␴e
冊 共3兲
In Eq. 共3兲, A, ␴m, and ␴e represent a material constant, the hydro-
static stress, and the effective stress, respectively. The ratio of ␴m
to ␴e is known as the triaxiality ratio 共TR兲, representing the tri-
axial stress condition. Kanvinde and Deierlein 共2004兲 extended
the VGM and SMCS models to cyclic loading conditions, devel-
oping the cyclic void growth model 共CVGM兲 and degraded sig-
nificant plastic strain 共DSPS兲 model. These models have been
applied to accurately predict the ductile fracture of monotonically
loaded tensile specimens with holes 共Kanvinde and Deierlein
2007兲 and ductile fracture of a plate specimen with holes sub-
jected to two loading cycles with a small amplitude 共Kanvinde
and Deierlein 2004兲.
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J. Struct. Eng. 2009.135:1472-1480.
In the VGM, SMCS, CVGM, and DSPS models, the initiation
of a ductile fracture is triggered when the length of the microf-
racture reaches a characteristic length l* 共Kanvinde and Deilerlein
2006兲. These models require determining the microcrack length
using a finite-element analysis, and therefore the mesh of the
finite-element model 共FEM兲 must be appreciably smaller than l*.
However, since l* is in the order of 0.1 mm 共Kanvinde and Deier-
lein 2006; Chi et al. 2006兲, the application of these microme-
chanical models to a connection which has a complex geometry,
and therefore a complex stress-strain distribution 共Mao et al.
2001兲, requires a fine mesh and large computational power.
Some researchers have succeeded to simulate the path of crack
extension using finite-element analysis with automatic mesh re-
generation techniques which can handle crack extension 共Kamin-
ishi et al. 1999兲. Some commercial multipurpose finite-element
analysis programs, e.g., ABAQUS 共2007兲, can handle crack ex-
tension with some limitations, for example, that crack locations
should be designated in advance. Modeling of the crack distribu-
tion and extension of cracking in three dimensions can be difficult
and requires an enormous amount of computational effort and
time. It is difficult and impractical for structural designers and
engineers to make use of such techniques to estimate the remain-
ing life and performance of a real structure which often have
connection components with a complicated geometry. This paper
proposes a methodology to predict crack extension, which can be
applied to the practical design and evaluation of structures, utiliz-
ing a continuum finite-element analysis which is widely available
for structural designers.
Proposed Methodology for Determination of
Low-Cycle Fatigue Life
In the proposed method, crack length is used as a damage index.
A component is considered to have failed when the crack length
reaches a critical length. Eq. 共2兲 is used to calculate the growth in
crack length during each loading cycle. The parameters ␣ and ␤
are dependent on the properties of the material, and as noted
previously, their values are determined by cyclic material tests.
The effect of triaxiality needs to be considered since it has a
significant effect on the critical strain at fracture ␧critical
p , as indi-
cated in Eq. 共3兲. Upon integrating Eq. 共2兲 from the state of an
initial crack size a0 to the final crack size a f , it can be shown that
ln共a f /a0兲
␣= 共4兲
⌬␧␤p N f
where N f = number of cycles associated with developing a f . Con-
sidering the case of monotonic loading, ⌬␧ p is proportional to
␧critical
p in Eq. 共3兲. From Eqs. 共3兲 and 共4兲, the ratio between the ␣’s
under the two general triaxiality ratio values of TR and 1 / 3 can
therefore be expressed as 共Ricles et al. 2000兲
␣ TR 共兩⌬␧ p兩TR=1/3兲␤ 共兩␧critical兩TR=1/3兲␤
p exp共− 0.5␤兲
= = =
␣TR=1/3 共兩⌬␧ p兩TR兲␤ 共兩␧critical
p 兩 TR兲 ␤ exp共− 1.5TR␤兲
= exp关␤共1.5TR − 0.5兲兴 共5兲
The value of 1 / 3 for the triaxiality ratio corresponds to the con-
dition for a tensile coupon material test using round specimens
with a smooth surface. Hence, from Eq. 共5兲 the material coeffi-
cient ␣ for any value of triaxiality ratio TR can be related to the
value of ␣ established from a tension test using a 13-mm diameter
round tensile specimen 共ASTM 2008兲, where
 Fig. 1. Estimated crack length at fracture
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␣TR = ␣ exp关␤共1.5TR − 0.5兲兴
In the tests by Ricles et al. 共2002兲, Zhang and Ricles 共2006兲,
and Stojadinovic et al. 共2000兲, where low-cycle fatigue led to a
fracture, the fracture occurred in the beam flange of the specimen.
On that basis, in the methodology developed in this paper to
predict the low-cycle fatigue life of connections that develop plas-
tic hinges, the crack length to cause fracture is established by
considering a beam flange to be modeled as a plate subject to a
tension force, where the plate has a width b, thickness t, and a
crack of length a f as shown in Fig. 1. Currently there is a lack of
experimental data for crack length at fracture to determine the
exact critical crack length a f when the section fractures, and
therefore in this paper a hypothesis 共Ricles et al. 2000兲 that the
plate will fail when the applied force P exceeds the remaining
strength of the plate is used. By defining the maximum force as
Pmax = bt␴u, and the force at fracture as P f = b共t − a f 兲␴u, a f can be
represented as
冉 冊 冉 冊
Pf ␴f
af = t 1 − =t 1−
Pmax ␴u
where ␴u = tensile strength and ␴ f = nominal stress at fracture 共i.e.,
␴ f = P f / bt兲. The procedure for estimating fatigue life can be easily
modified by replacing Eq. 共7兲 with another expression that may be
deemed to be more appropriate by the analyst.
The steps in the methodology to determine the low-cycle fa-
tigue life are given below.
1. Obtain time history of effective plastic strain ␧PEEQ共t兲
共ABAQUS 2007兲 and the triaxiality ratio TR共t兲 at the surface
at various locations in the connection: The strain and stress
histories on the surface are obtained by nonlinear finite-
element analysis of the structural component subjected to a
prescribed loading history representing a seismic event, fo-
cusing at locations where the fatigue strength of the connec-
tion is to be established. The seismic event is that for which
the low-cycle fatigue damage is to be determined. Effective
strain and the triaxiality ratio are required because of the
multiaxis state of stress and strain in the connection.
2. Calculate time history of significant strain: the time history
of significant effective plastic strain ␧*共t兲 per Kanvinde and
Deierlein 共2004兲 is used to determine the effective plastic
strain range below in Step 3. The significant effective plastic
strain ␧*共t兲 is defined as follows:
冕 冕
t t
␧*共t兲 = f t共t兲dt − f c共t兲dt
0 0
where
再 冎
␧PEEQ共t兲 when TR共t兲 ⬎ 0
f t共t兲 =
0 when TR共t兲 艋 0
1474 / JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / DECEMBER 2009
J. Struct. Eng. 2009.135:1472-1480.
共6兲
Fig. 2. Experimental setup 共Kuwamura and Suzuki 1992兲. 共Reprinted
with permission, Architectural Institute of Japan.兲
再 冎
0 when TR共t兲 ⬎ 0
f c共t兲 = 共9兲
␧PEEQ共t兲 when TR共t兲 艋 0
3. Count cycles and calculate the effective plastic strain range:
the rain flow counting method 共Downing and Socie 1982兲 is
applied to ␧*共t兲 to define the beginning and the end of each
cycle and to determine the associated significant effective
plastic strain range ⌬␧i* for each cycle.
4. Calculate the average triaxiality ratio per cycle: a value for
the triaxiality ratio for each cycle from the rain flow count is
共7兲
required for the fatigue life estimation. The average value of
the positive 共tensile兲 triaxiality 关i.e., when TR共t兲 ⬎ 0兴 in each
cycle is used in the calculation.
5. Crack length calculation: from the significant effective plas-
tic strain range ⌬␧i* of each cycle, the crack extension is
calculated by integrating Eq. 共2兲 over each cycle, whereby
for cycle i + 1
ai+1 = ai exp关␣TRi共⌬␧i*兲␤兴 共10兲
where ai and ai+1 = crack length at the i and i + 1 cycles and
⌬␧i* is used in lieu of ⌬␧ p in Eq. 共2兲. The coefficient ␣TR in
i
Eq. 共10兲 is based on Eq. 共6兲, using the average triaxiality
ratio for cycle i from Step 4.
6. Determination of failure: a failure occurs when the crack
length ai+1 reaches the critical length a f from Eq. 共7兲.
Experimental Validation
Overview of Experiments
The proposed methodology was used to predict the low-cycle
fatigue life of welded beam-to-column connection specimens re-
ported by Iyama et al. 共1998兲. The test setup is shown in Fig. 2
and is the same as that used by Kuwamura and Suzuki 共1992兲.
共8兲 The specimens each consisted of a built-up welded H-shaped
beam section, which was welded to an end plate, as shown in Fig.
3. The section for the test specimens was fabricated from SM490
steel 共formerly known as SM50兲 plate, which is a common mild
steel used in Japan with a nominal yield and tensile strength of
325 and 490 MPa, respectively. Material properties for the base
metal were obtained from material tensile coupon tests performed
 The weld details shown in Fig. 3 for the beam-to-column con-
nection consisted of a complete joint penetration 共CJP兲 groove
weld on the outside face of the beam flange with a reinforcement
fillet weld on the inside face 共see Fig. 4兲. The beam web was fillet
welded to the end plate, and the end plate was connected to the
column using high strength bolts. Specimens were fabricated with
and without a weld access hole, as noted in Fig. 3. The weld metal
was a YFW-C50DR electrode 共compatible to E71T-1C兲, and the
welding was performed using the gas metal arc welding proce-
dure. No material tests were performed on the weld metal, and
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therefore the material properties of the weld metal for the current
Fig. 3. Beam section and end plate welding detail study were estimated using the Vickers hardness. Kuwamura
共2002兲 and Inoue 共2003兲 recommended that there is a linear rela-
on flat coupon specimens with a 50-mm gauge length using the tionship that exists between the Vickers hardness Hv and tensile
procedure recommended by JIS Z2201 共JIS 1998兲. The values are strength ␴u of a metallic material. According to the material hard-
given in Table 1 共Iyama et al. 1998兲, where ␴y, ␴u, ␧u, ␧EL, and ness tests performed on the test specimens reported by Iyama et
YR are equal to the yield strength, tensile strength, strain corre- al. 共1998兲, the average Hv values for the base metal and weld
sponding to the tensile strength, elongation at fracture, and the metal are 154.1 and 188.2, respectively. The stress-strain curve
yield-to-tensile stress ratio, respectively. for the weld metal was established by scaling the base metal
stress by the ratio 共188.2/ 154.1兲 for a given strain. The estimated
yield strength and tensile strength for the weld metal are given in
Table 1. Specimen Material Properties
Table 1.
␴ya ␴ ua The test matrix is given in Table 2 and consisted of two series
Material 共N / mm2兲 共N / mm2兲 ⑀ ua ⑀EL YR of specimens 共NS and SC兲, with three specimens in each series.
SM50 334.4 521.7 0.17 0.395 0.64 The NS specimens had no weld access holes, while the SC speci-
Weld metal 408.0 526.4 0.17 0.395 0.64 mens had weld access holes with a 25-mm radius, as shown in
a
Engineering stress and strain quantities. Fig. 3. Using an actuator attached to the end of the beam, each
specimen was subjected to a series of predefined cyclic displace-
ments of constant amplitude. The amplitude was proportional to
the calculated elastic displacement ␦ p at the end of the beam
corresponding to the condition of reaching the plastic moment
capacity M p of the beam at the beam-to-column connection. As
indicated in Table 2, the displacement amplitudes for the speci-
mens included 3␦ p, 5␦ p, 7␦ p, and 9␦ p. The test results are also
summarized in Table 2 and include for each specimen the follow-
ing: maximum load achieved Pmax, maximum load during the
final cycle P f , the plastic deformation range ⌬␦ p, the plastic ro-
tation range ⌬␪ p, number of cycles to fracture, and location of
fracture in the test specimen. ⌬␦ p is calculated as the displace-
ment between zero crossings within a cycle of displacement in the
load-deformation relationship of the test specimen. ⌬␪ p is calcu-
lated as ⌬␦ p / L, where L is the length of the beam.

Fig. 4. FEA model 共SC specimen series兲

Table 2. Test Matrix and Test Results

Plastic Plastic
Maximum Load at the displacement rotation Cycles to
load final cycle range range fracturea
Specimen Amplitude Pmax 共kN兲 P f 共kN兲 ⌬␦ p 共mm兲 ⌬␪ p 共rad兲 Nf Location of fracture
NS-9F 9␦ p 110.4 90.6 132.3 0.1093 6− Edge of flange, with imminent local buckling
NS-7F 7␦ p 104.0 83.8 97.5 0.0806 16+ Edge of flange, with imminent local buckling
NS-5F 5␦ p 102.9 80.8 70.1 0.0580 22− Edge of flange
SC-7F 7␦ p 99.8 99.8 100.7 0.0832 2− Toe of access hole
SC-5F 5␦ p 94.7 89.8 62.8 0.0512 4+ Toe of access hole
SC-3F 3␦ p 87.3 66.1 26.8 0.0222 26− Toe of access hole
共Crack at flange edge also observed兲
a
+=same direction as the first loading and −=opposite direction as the first loading.

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J. Struct. Eng. 2009.135:1472-1480.

 Table 3. Values for Fatigue Model Parameter
Case number c ␣ ␤
1 −0.5 13.7 2.00
2 −0.6 12.7 1.67
3 −0.7 12.0 1.43

Parameter Determination
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Initial Crack Length a0 and Final Crack Length at Fracture

af
The initial crack size a0 should be determined from the experi-
mental data of the material for the test specimens. However, the
initial crack size of the steel material in the specimens reported by
Iyama et al. 共1998兲 is not known. For a similar steel material, Fig. 5. Detail of welding
Krawinkler and Zohrei 共1983兲 reported that the mean value of
initial crack size a0 was 0.041 mm 共0.0016 in.兲, and the standard
deviation was 0.030 mm 共0.0012 in.兲 for their test specimens. In Finite-Element Analysis of Test Specimens
this paper, a0 was assumed to be 0.041 mm. This assumption can
be verified by having more experimental data in the future. Three-dimensional 共3D兲 FEMs of the test specimens were devel-
a f for the NS and SC series of specimens was established oped using the general-purpose nonlinear finite-element analysis
using Eq. 共7兲. For this calculation, ␴ f is based on Eq. 共11兲, which program ABAQUS 共2007兲. The FEM for one of the SC series of
assumes that the section of the specimen is almost fully plastified, test specimens is shown in Fig. 4 and consists of four-node 3D
even during the last cycle just prior to fracture tetrahedral elements that use standard integration. The minimum
mesh size is approximately 2 mm. The column in the test setup
was modeled by a rotational stiffness, where the stiffness was
M f PfL
␴f = = 共11兲 determined so that the initial stiffness of the model matched that
Z Z from the experimental results. The rotational stiffness was devel-
In Eq. 共11兲, M f is the beam moment at the column face at fracture, oped in the FEM using a pinned ended beam element of length
Z is the plastic section modulus, P f is the maximum load at the Lb, where the rotation stiffness is 3EI / Lb, and EI is the section
end of the beam at the final cycle before fracture, and L is the stiffness of the element. The FEM includes the weld geometry, as
length of the beam in the test setup 共i.e., 1,210 mm, see Fig. 2兲. shown in Fig. 5. The analysis involved subjecting the test speci-
In this study, P f was obtained from the experiments to estimate men displacement history used in the experiments to the top of
a f . In the general case when experimental results for P f are not the beam in the model, at the location shown in Fig. 4. The model
available, the maximum moment capacity M u can be used. Basing had lateral bracing at the point of load application. The classical
P f on M u in lieu of M f results in a conservative value for a f . metal plasticity model in the ABAQUS material library based on
the von Mises yield criterion with combined isotropic and kine-
Parameters ␣ and ␤ matic strain hardening was used to account for material nonlin-
As mentioned before, ␣ and ␤ in Eq. 共2兲 should be determined by earities in the members and welds. The parameters for the
cyclic tests. However, because material cyclic tests were not con- plasticity model were based on the monotonic stress-strain data,
ducted in conjunction with the experiments reported by Iyama et with the saturated cyclic hardening condition resulting in a maxi-
al. 共1998兲, ␣ and ␤ had to be established by another means. mum stress that is equivalent to the ultimate stress from the ma-
Krawinkler and Zhorei 共1983兲 pointed out that ␤ is insensitive to terial tests. Geometric nonlinearities are accounted for through a
member geometry. As mentioned above, ␤ is equal to −1 / c, finite-strain large-displacement formulation. The monotonic
where the value for c ranges from −0.5 to −0.7, with an average stress-strain curves for the materials for the FEMs are shown in
value of −0.6 共Bannantine et al. 1990兲. Therefore, for the experi-
mental validation study reported in this paper, cases with values
of c equal to −0.5, 0.6, and −0.7 were considered, which corre-
spond to values of 2.0, 1.67, and 1.43 for ␤, respectively.
The parameter ␣ was estimated from the material tests that
were performed on the base metal under monotonic loading using
Eq. 共4兲. Values of 2␧EL = 0.790 and 1 / 4 were substituted for ⌬␧ p
and N f , respectively, based on the recommendations by Nakajima
and Yamada 共2000兲, who found that monotonic test results have a
better agreement with the Coffin-Manson relationship 关Eq. 共1兲兴
and Eq. 共2兲 when values of ⌬␧ p = 2␧EL and N f = 1 / 4 are used. The
final crack length a f at the coupon test was found to be equal to
0.3474 mm using Eq. 共7兲, with the maximum stress ␴u 共equal to
521.7 MPa, see Table 1兲 and the final stress at fracture ␴ f 共equal
to 500.7 MPa兲 obtained from the material test, and assuming a0 to
be equal to 0.041 mm. The calculated values for ␣ and ␤ are
summarized in Table 3. Fig. 6. Stress-strain curve used in FEM

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J. Struct. Eng. 2009.135:1472-1480.

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Fig. 7. Load-displacement response
Fig. 6. The stress-strain curve for the weld metal has a similar
shape of that of the base metal, having the estimated yield
strength and tensile strength shown in Table 1. The largest mag-
nitudes of plastic strain observed in the FEM models for the series
of NS and SC specimens were 7 and 10%, respectively, which are
considered to be within the acceptable range of accuracy for a
finite-strain analysis. Elastic and inelastic convergence studies
were conducted to evaluate and arrive at the final mesh for the
FEMs. Crack opening and growth were not explicitly incorpo-
rated into the model, rather considered in the proposed low-cycle
fatigue procedure described previously through Eq. 共10兲.
The load-displacement curves from the finite-element analysis
and the tests of Specimens NS-7F and SC-5F are shown in Fig. 7.
Good agreement between the analysis and tests results exists. The
agreement between analysis and test results of the other speci-
mens was similar to that shown in Fig. 7.
Predicted Crack Length Results
Distribution of Crack Length
The distribution of predicted crack length through the thickness of
the beam bottom flange of Specimens NS-7F and SC-5F are
shown in Fig. 8 at the end of Cycles 16 and 4, respectively. The x
coordinate in this figure is associated with the direction across the
beam flange, while the y coordinate is the distance from the col-
umn face. The fusion line for the CJP groove welds and toe of the
fillet welds are identified in Fig. 8. The darker areas in Fig. 8 are
associated with a larger predicted crack length through the thick-
ness of the beam flange, as noted in the legend provided in Fig. 8.
Fig. 8. Distribution of predicted crack length
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / DECEMBER 2009 / 1477
J. Struct. Eng. 2009.135:1472-1480.
Fig. 9. Crack length distribution
The distribution of crack length across the width of the beam
flange at the fusion line of Specimen NS-7F and at the toe and
beneath the across hole of Specimen SC-5F in each cycle of load-
ing are shown in Fig. 9.
The results shown in Figs. 8共b兲 and 9共b兲 indicate that on the
outside face of the beam flange, a crack is predicted to occur
along the fusion line in Specimen NS-7F. Some damage is also
observed at the edge of the inside surface of the flange of Speci-
men NS-7F, see Figs. 8共a兲 and 9共a兲. In the experiments, Specimen
NS-7F developed a fracture across the beam flange near the fu-
sion line at the interface of the base metal and CJP weld metal,
and therefore agrees with the predicted crack growth.
For Specimen SC-5F, the predicted crack growth is shown in
Figs. 8共c and d兲 as well as in Figs. 9共c and d兲 to be concentrated
at the toe of the access hole on the inside surface of the beam
flange and beneath the toe of the access hole on the outside sur-
face of the beam flange. This prediction agrees well with the
observed behavior of Specimen SC-5F, where cracks were ob-
served to originate from the toe of the access hole. This crack
eventually extended through the thickness of the flange, leading
to the fracture of the beam flange and failure of the specimen
during the test.
Based on the results shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the critical loca-
tions where fracture is predicted to occur are identified in Fig. 5
as susceptible location of crack, and located where a crack is
predicted to extend from the fusion line of the CJP groove weld
on the beam outside flange surface of Specimens NS-7F and SC-
5F. A second critical location was assumed to exist at the toe of
the weld access hole in Specimen SC-5F and at the fusion line of
the CJP on the inside face of the flange of Specimen NS-7F. The
above predicted results for Specimens NS-7F and SC-5F are rep-
resentative of specimens in the NS and SC series, respectively.
Time History of Crack Extension
The time histories of the predicted growth in crack length through
the thickness of the beam bottom flanges of all six test specimens
in the test matrix are shown in Fig. 10. The time history was
obtained by plotting the predicted crack length ai+1 from Eq. 共10兲
against the cycle number. The predicted crack length shown in the
figure is the average of those along a line across the beam flange
identified previously in Fig. 5 as susceptible location of crack.
The three thick lines in Fig. 10 represent the predicted crack
lengths from the outside surface of the beam flange, while the
three thin lines represent those from the inside surface of the
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Fig. 11. Predicted ⌬␪ p-N j curves

value of c = −0.6 is used in the prediction for crack growth, e.g., in

Fig. 10. Time history of crack extension
flange. As noted in the legend for Fig. 10, the three lines corre-
spond to values of c = −0.5, c = −0.6, and c = −0.7, respectively.
The value of the estimated crack length at fracture of the beam
flange, a f , for each specimen based on Eq. 共7兲 is indicated in Fig.
10. The location where the predicted crack length time history
reaches a f corresponds to the predicted number of cycles to frac-
ture on the horizontal axis in Fig. 10. Also indicated in Fig. 10 is
when the fracture was observed to occur in the experiments. For
Specimen NS-9F 关Fig. 10共a兲兴, the predicted crack extension with
c = −0.5 and c = −0.7 reach a f on the outside face of the flange at
Cycles 8.5 and 4.5, respectively. Therefore this specimen is esti-
mated to fracture between Cycles 4 and 9. During the experiment,
Specimen NS-9F developed a fracture in Cycle 6 共i.e., N f = 6兲,
which resides between the fourth and ninth cycles. This trend is
common in all three specimens in the NS series that are shown in
Figs. 10共a–c兲. It appears that the most consistent accurate predic-
tion for fracture is achieved for the NS series of specimens if a
Specimen NS-9F the beam flange is predicted to fracture at the
sixth cycle, where the crack extension reaches the crucial value a f
关see Fig. 10共a兲兴. A summary of the values for ␴ f , a f , predicted N f ,
and N f in the experiments is given in Table 4 for each test speci-
men.
For the series of SC specimens, Figs. 10共d–f兲 show that the
estimated crack lengths from the inside flange surface at the toe of
the weld access hole are predicted to grow at a faster rate in the
earlier cycles and become longer than those from the outside
surface. This implies that the crack might initiate at the toe of the
access hole on the inside surface of the beam flange and agrees
with the experimental results where all of the fractures in the SC
test specimens initiated at the toe of the access hole. However, for
Specimen SC-3F, Fig. 10共f兲 shows that the estimated crack length
from the outside surface of the flange beneath the toe of the weld
access hole first reached the critical crack length a f in Cycle 20
based on c = −0.6. This prediction would imply that the specimen
fractures due to the crack that originates beneath the weld access
hole from the outside surface of the flange. This was however not
observed in Specimen SC-3F, as noted above, and Specimen
SC-3F also failed in the 26th cycle. For the other SC specimens,
the predicted fatigue life is shown to be slightly less than that
observed in Specimen SC-7F 关Fig. 10共d兲 and Table 4兴 and in
Specimen SC-5F 关Fig. 10共e兲 and Table 4兴 by 1 cycle. The greater
discrepancy for the SC specimens is due to the larger concentra-
tion of plastic strain that develops in a local region at the toe of
the access hole, as shown in Fig. 9共c兲. The predicted crack length
significantly extends beyond the thickness of the flange, causing
the predicted value of a f based on Eq. 共7兲 to become inaccurate
共the predicted crack length was limited to the flange thickness in
the low-cycle fatigue calculations兲. A correction factor can be
used in Eq. 共7兲 to adjust for the correct value for a f and will be
discussed later.

Table 4. Stress Coefficient and Estimated Crack Length at Fracture

Predicted N f
␴f af Actual Predicted
Specimen 共N / mm2兲 共mm2兲 c = −0.5 c = −0.6 c = −0.7 Nf Ncorr
f

NS-9F 466.6 0.91 8.5 6 4.5 6 —

NS-7F 431.2 1.49 24 12.5 8.5 16 —
NS-5F 415.9 1.74 65 21.5 12.5 22 —
SC-7F 514.0 0.13 ⬍1 ⬍1 ⬍1 2 1.5
SC-5F 462.5 0.97 3 2.5 ⬍1 4 3.6
SC-3F 340.3 2.99 32 20 10 26 29

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J. Struct. Eng. 2009.135:1472-1480.

 Estimated ⌬␪p-Nf Relationship of Test Specimens
Fig. 11 shows the plastic rotation range-cycle to failure 共⌬␪ p-N f 兲
relationships from the experiments. The predicted results are in-
cluded in Fig. 11. ⌬␪ p is the plastic rotation range of the connec-
tion that is calculated by ⌬␪ p = ⌬␦ p / L, where ⌬␦ p is the plastic
displacement from the experimental P-␦ relationships as de-
scribed before and L is the length of the beam in the test setup
共1,210 mm兲. The values for ⌬␦ p and ⌬␪ p from the experiments
are given in Table 2. For the predicted results, ⌬␪ p was based on
the analytical results for the P-␦ relationships and N f from Fig. 10
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and Table 4. As indicated in the legend of Fig. 11, the solid data
symbols represent the experimental results while the white-
colored data symbols represent the predicted results. The regres-
sion curves for the experimental results for ⌬␪ p-N f are included in
Fig. 11.
For the NS specimens, the predicted ⌬␪ p-N f results based on
c = −0.6 agree well with the experimental results. As for the SC
specimens, the predicted numbers of cycles to fracture is conser-
vative and not as accurate as for the NS specimens. However, the
slopes in the predicted ⌬␪ p-N f relationship are fairly close to the
experimental results.
The accuracy may be improved by the use of a correction
factor in Eq. 共7兲 for connections with weld access holes in order
to correct for the fact that a f from Eq. 共7兲 can significantly exceed
the flange thickness. Based on the results shown in Fig. 11, this
correction factor is equal to 1.5 and was obtained by a regression
analysis of the difference in predicted and experimental values for
N f of the SC specimens. A summary of the predicted number of
cycles to failure Ncorr
f using the correction factor is included in
Table 4 for the SC specimens where c = −0.6. The values for Ncorr f ASTM. 共2008兲. “Standard test methods for tension testing of metallic
are shown to be within 0.4 cycles 共Specimen SC-5F兲 to 3 cycles
共Specimen SC-3F兲 of the actual value for N f from the tests.
Summary and Conclusions
A methodology to predict the fatigue life of structural elements
subject to cyclic plastic deformations was presented. A crack ex-
tension rule based on the history of the local stress-strain state
from finite-element analyses under cyclic loading was used to
estimate the growth in crack length from an initial defect size in
structural connections. The rule is based on ductile fracture and
considers the effect of stress triaxiality on the fracture ductility.
Fracture is defined when the crack length reaches a critical length
and the remaining section in the beam flange at the connection
cannot resist the flange force.
The method was used to predict the cyclic performance of two
series of welded connection specimens tested previously in the
laboratory. The connections consisted of a complete joint penetra-
tion groove weld of the flanges and fillet weld of the web of a
wide flange beam to a rigid end plate that was bolted to the
column. One series of the specimens had a connection with weld
access holes, while the other series of specimens had no weld
access hole. The history of estimated growth in crack length was
calculated based on the stress and strain history on the surface of
the beam flanges obtained from the FEMs subjected to the same
displacement history used in the test. The number of cycles to
fracture was determined when the average crack length in the
beam flange reached the critical value based on net section frac-
ture.
The methodology is shown to provide a reasonable good pre-
diction of the number of cycles to fracture compared to the test
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / DECEMBER 2009 / 1479
J. Struct. Eng. 2009.135:1472-1480.
results. However, the accuracy for the series of specimens with
access holes was less than that for the specimens without access
holes. This is because the finite-element analysis does not con-
sider crack extension in the FEM, which appears to change more
significantly the stress-strain state redistribution in a connection
with weld access holes. For connections with weld access holes, a
factor was introduced to correct for the critical crack length at
fracture in order to increase the accuracy of the predicted fatigue
life of the connection.
In summary, the method to predict the fatigue life of structural
elements subject to cyclic plastic deformations shows a reason-
able good accuracy, considering the simplicity of the finite-
element analysis by not explicitly including crack extension in the
FEM and the use of the stress and strain information only on the
flange surface.
Acknowledgments
The analytical research reported in this paper was conducted at
Lehigh University and financially supported by the Japan Society
for the Promotion of Science. The experimental data used in this
paper were provided by Professor Kuwamura from the University
of Tokyo, Japan.
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