WeldToolkit Documentation V212.1

Weld Toolkit
DOCUMENTATION
Extension version 212.1

Release date 18-Nov-21
Compatible ANSYS version 2021R2
www.edrmedeso.com
Weld Toolkit - Documentation – v.212.1 -18-Nov-21
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ 2
Weld Toolkit toolbar ............................................................................................................................. 3
Save Weld Configuration ................................................................................................................ 4
Import Weld Configuration .............................................................................................................. 5
Optimize Bonded Contacts ............................................................................................................. 6
Create Weld Contacts..................................................................................................................... 7
Weld Contacts Match ..................................................................................................................... 8
Add Fillet Welds.............................................................................................................................. 9
Add Butt Welds ............................................................................................................................ 19
Fillet and Butt Weld Strength ................................................................................................... 20
Fillet and Butt Weld Strength Shell .......................................................................................... 45
Fillet and Butt Weld Strength Child .......................................................................................... 46
Lamellar Strength ......................................................................................................................... 47
Mesh Result ................................................................................................................................. 49
Clear selected weld result files ..................................................................................................... 50
Weld Fatigue overview ...................................................................................................................... 51
CSV Fatigue ................................................................................................................................. 57
Linearized Stress Fatigue ............................................................................................................. 58
Nominal Fatigue ........................................................................................................................... 60
Hot-Spot Fatigue .......................................................................................................................... 63
Effective Notch Fatigue................................................................................................................. 71
Comparison of fatigue methods ......................................................................................................... 73
Child Fatigue ................................................................................................................................ 74
Cumulative Damage ..................................................................................................................... 75
Weld Fatigue Result listing ................................................................................................................ 77
Validity of the fatigue results .............................................................................................................. 77
Weld Report ................................................................................................................................. 78
Open Preference .......................................................................................................................... 80
Licensing Features ....................................................................................................................... 90
Known Issues/limitations ................................................................................................................... 91
References ........................................................................................................................................ 91
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Weld Toolkit toolbar

The main toolbar has seven action buttons that are described in the following sections.
Weld Toolkit Help

This button opens the help documentation (this file).
Technical Enhancements and Customer Support, TECS, is included in the license. Make sure to fully read this
documentation and study the demo models and verification examples before posting questions to the
support. The user may use this link to send support questions, report bugs or enhancement requests
ansys@edrmedeso.com (make sure to include “Weld Toolkit” in the subject line).
In the extension installation zip file there are a number of files providing demo and verification examples used
in this documentation. The verification models provide an easy way to check that the app derives the correct
results based on the analytical handbook examples. The verification report is created using the app weld
report feature.
WeldToolkit-StrengthDemos_V212.1.wbpz
WeldToolkit-StrengthVerification_V212.1.wbpz
WeldToolkit-StrengthVerification_V212.1.pdf
WeldToolkit-FatigueDemos_V212.1.wbpz
WeldToolkit-FatigueVerification_V212.1.wbpz
WeldToolkit-FatigueVerification_V212.1.pdf
For information about element types used in the tools or other FEM details use the ANSYS online help [1].
News in version V212.1

• Improved “Add fillet weld” wireframe graphics.
• Added weld section “Id” number in graphics.
• Updated to current technology thermal elements.
• Hot-Spot fatigue automatic offset using weld toe.
• Hot-Spot extrapolation points and normal direction projected to non-planar faces.
• Hot-Spot fatigue option to post-process “unconnected” faces, e.g. from “Weld mesh” feature.
• Bugfix Weld Strength result material select.
• Bugfix named selection scoping after geometry update.
Migration from Weld Strength or Weld Fatigue

Projects using the “Weld Strength” app can be opened with the “Weld Toolkit” app.
Projects using the “Weld Fatigue” app needs to perform an export/import operation to convert the result
objects.
• Activate the app “Weld Fatigue Export” in the project (Included in the Weld Toolkit app download file)
and click the button “Save Fatigue Configuration” to export all existing fatigue result objects.
• From Weld Toolkit menu click “Import Weld Fatigue Configuration” and select the file
“WeldFatigue_Export.json”.
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Save Weld Configuration
Click “Save Weld Strength Configuration” to save all or selected weld strength objects from the active analysis.
The file “WeldStrength.json” is saved in the solution folder subfolder “WeldStrength”, see example below.
If the file exists a “save as” window is opened to select file name and location to save the file.
Click “Save Weld Fatigue Configuration” to save all or selected weld fatigue objects from the active analysis.
The file “WeldFatigue.json” is saved in the solution folder subfolder “WeldFatigue”.
The exported objects are selected in the tree after the export as a confirmation.
The file format is new for 2020R1 and is based on “json”, a modern object-oriented syntax that can be edited
using a modern text editor (e.g. Visual Studio Code) and easily imported in e.g. Python.
The created file may be used as a template for automation tasks, i.e. to create the file with an external tool or
Ansys Wizard and then use “Import Weld Configuration” to create the objects in the file.
Table 1. Sample Weld Strength configuration file ”WeldStrength.json”
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Import Weld Configuration
Click “Import Weld Strength Configuration” to browse for a “WeldStrength.json” configuration file to import
the objects in the active analysis. As default the file open browser starts in the solution folder subfolder
“WeldStrength”.
Click “Import Weld Fatigue Configuration” to browse for a “WeldFatigue.json” configuration file to import the
objects in the active analysis. As default the file open browser starts in the solution folder subfolder
“WeldFatigue”.
If the “Analysis” folder is selected only the fillet and butt weld objects are imported.
If the “Solution” folder is selected only the weld result objects are imported.
If an object with the same name already exists in the model tree the import of that object is skipped.
Configuration File Syntax

• The syntax follows the underlying structure of ACT and how the properties are accessed by the app
using the exact same property names and structure.
• The text file is grouped by “Load Objects” such as “Fillet Weld Group” and “Butt Weld Group” and
their “Children” and “Result Objects” such as the “Fillet Weld Strength etc.
• For each type there are several parameters that can be defined.
If a parameter is omitted the default value will be used.
• Geometry is defined either by a list of “Ids”, e.g. “[1842, 1846, 1838, 1850]” or an existing
“Named Selection” name, e.g. “FilletWeld3mm”
• Material is defined by an existing material name in the current analysis or one of the default materials
name.
• Property values are defined with a unit string when needed. Decimal point must be used.
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Optimize Bonded Contacts

Bonded face to face contacts can be optimized for weld strength evaluation by setting the smaller face as
“Contact” and the larger face as “Target” and change behavior to “Asymmetric”.
Select the “Connections” folder, “Contacts” folders or individual “Contacts” and click the button “Optimize
Bonded Contacts” to update all selected objects.
The app will only work on bonded contacts.
An info message will show the number of selected contacts to optimize and how many that was updated.
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Create Weld Contacts

This feature is used when weld seams already exist in the geometry model, i.e. has been modelled as solid
bodies in CAD or geometry preprocessing tool (DesignModeler, SpaceClaim).
The “Create Weld Contacts” automation can be used to speed up model preparation when dealing with big
models with many parts and contacts. To use the weld contacts automation, follow these steps:
• Name each weld (seam) part so it contains “Weld” or “weld”. Tip: use “Multi rename” by selecting all
weld parts in the Geometry branch in the tree and press “F2” and type in the name “Weld”.
• Click the “Create Weld Contacts” button. This will create a “Weld Contacts” folder in the Connections
folder and create face contacts with correct settings(*) for use with the Fillet Weld Strength result.
• Delete any existing duplicate weld contacts in other contacts folders.
Notes: Any weld contact object may be deleted or re-created as you like or moved to other contact folders.
To use a specified “Auto Detection Tolerance Value” first create a “Weld Contacts” connection folder and set
the tolerance value and then click the “Create Weld Contacts” button.
Naming a “non-weld seam” part e.g. “Flange” with “Weld_Flange” will try to create contacts for that part.
(*) Recommended contact settings:

• Contact side on weld part
• Behavior: Asymmetric
• Formulation: Augmented Lagrange
• Detection Method: Nodal-Projected Normal From Contact
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Weld Contacts Match

This feature can be used in conjunction with the feature “Create Weld Contacts” above or when the user has
defined contact manual between weld parts connecting structural parts (*).
For tetrahedron meshed parts the weld contact match can be used to create a “Weld Contacts Match” folder
in Mesh Edit and create corresponding mesh imprint for the weld contacts.
This feature is useful for improved contact results when the element size difference between the parts is large
or when fatigue results in the base material at the weld toe is needed. To use the weld contacts match
automation first use the “Create Weld Contacts” and then follow these steps:
• Click the “Weld Contacts Match” button. This will create a “Weld Contacts Match” folder in the Mesh
Edit folder and create contacts match for each weld contact.
• If needed adjust the “Tolerance Type” and “Tolerance Value” to obtain a good result.
• Delete any existing duplicate contact match in other contact match folders.
Note: Any contact match object may be deleted or re-created as you like or moved to other contact match
folders.
Do not also use a “Node Merge Group” as this is not compatible with “Weld Strength”. Multi-body and node
merge can be used separately, see section “Comparison weld mesh methods”.
(*) Only contacts with “weld” in the name will be included in the contacts match.
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Add Fillet Welds

The “Add Fillet Weld” can be used to speed up creation of detailed weld models as well as optimize welds
parameters. The resulting weld geometry (3D parts or weld lines) can be exported for use in external CAD
programs and drawing preparation.
Click the “Add Fillet Weld” button. This will create a “Fillet Welds Group” and add the first Fillet Weld object.
Weld Section Edge

Reference Face
Target Face
Weld Geometry
Weld Seam
• Weld Section: Select edges of a solid model along the weld line. This is the location where the weld root is placed.
The edge cannot be a shared edge in a multi-body part. Also make sure that there are no bonded or no separation
contacts defined between the solid parts (from “Auto Detection”).
• Reference Face: Select a face connected to each weld section edge. If selecting additional faces these are used as
target faces only and plotted in turquoise color. See “Notes on Reference Face” below for examples.
• Weld Geometry:
Type: [Single sided/Single sided intermittent] Type of fillet weld. If “Intermittent” additional properties marked in
yellow must be defined, see “Notes on Weld Geometry” below.
Throat thickness: Weld throat thickness (default 3 mm, max 99 mm see preference file).
Free end offset: Offset of start and end for open weld seams (default 0.0 mm). (See preference file)
Min weld angle: Limit angle when creating weld elements (default 60 deg). (See preference file)
Max weld angle: Limit angle when creating weld elements (default 120 deg). (See preference file)
Section Length: Read only property of total section length, Lsection, used to help decide the weld fraction.
Weld fraction: Ratio of total weld length and total section length, Lweld/Lsection
Number of Welds: Total number of weld segments for the selected set of weld sections.
Weld Length: Individual weld segment length.
Weld Spacing: Length between each weld segment.
Throat elements: Number of elements (1-4) over throat thickness (default 3). (See preference file).
Aspect Ratio: Weld elements aspect ratio (default 2). (See preference file)
Element Order: Linear or Quadratic weld elements (default Linear).
Material: Material for weld (from Engineering Data or app default materials)
Nonlinear Effects: Use plasticity models defined in the selected material (BISO, MISO, BKIN, MKIN)
Weld annotation: Read only property for use with “Graphical Annotations”
Total Weld Length: Read only property of total weld length, Lweld, to help estimate welding time and cost.
Total Weld Mass: Read only property of total weld mass to help estimate weld material cost.
Export Weld Line: [None/SCDM Point curve (text)/DM 3D curve (text)] Export file format for weld line in Space Claim
Direct Modeler or Design Modeler format.
-9-
Notes on Reference Face: The weld geometry will follow Planar or Curved geometry. The weld Angle is derived
from the angle between the Reference face and the opposite face connected to the Weld section edge.
The parameters weldElementMinAngle(*) (default 60 deg) and weldElementMaxAngle(*) (default 120 deg) will
control if a weld can be placed. In the picture below only parts of the full edge length fulfil the angle criteria.
An error message is shown if no weld elements are created for a group of edges.
The Target face is automatically detected from solid element nodes within a bounding box with padding size
Gapmax around the weld contact face nodes. A small Gap between the parts is also allowed as the weld mesh is
morphed onto the target faces using the command “cncheck,morph” [1]. The maximum gap size, Gapmax, is
defined as a fraction (default 50%) of the Throat thickness;
“Gapmax = weldElementGapRatio*ThroatThickness” (*). This value is also used as the pinball radius, “PINB”, for
the weld contact.
The reference face for one section edge cannot be the “target” face for another section edge in the case of
defining multiple weld chains in the same weld object. Separate the edge chains so they do not belong to parts
for the “target” face. Defining welds for multiple flange parts to one common target face in one Fillet Weld
object is OK.
If additional faces not connected to any section edge are selected these are used as target face only. For
complex thin-walled geometry this is recommended to avoid that contacts are created on both sides of the
target plate.
Partial penetration welds can be defined by using the “chamfer” face as the reference face.
The Throat thickness is always defined from the section edge out to the free weld surface for each node along
the weld line, see example of pipe connection in the section “Visualization of weld mesh and weld stress
results”.
Table 2. Example of Weld section, Reference Face and Target Face
Planar geometry Curved geometry Partial penetration
Throat thickness
Gap
Angle
Gap
Angle Angle
(*) weldElementGapRatio, weldElementMinAngle and weldElementMaxAngle are defined in the preference

file, see section “General preferences”.
Angle > 120 deg

large
Angle < 60 deg

large
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Debugging tips
If the green lines that defines the weld geometry is not displayed at the expected location the surface
geometry quality may be poor.
Solution: Try to simplify the geometry in Space Claim, e.g. replace a face with a new planar or cylindrical face.
If the lines are “translated” or “scaled” the saved geometry information has been corrupted.
Solution: Open Space Claim and “cut and paste everything” (CTRL+A, CTRL+X, CTRL+V) and then close Space
Claim. This trick forces a geometry update that usually will resolve any graphical issues.
There is a debug option in the preference file that will plot the weld nodes coordinate system when evaluating
a weld result. The triad has the same orientation as the “Weld Csys” plotted at the beginning of each edge.
When changing between evaluated results the node triads will not be visible anymore.
plotWeldNodecsys = True # Plot weld node coordinate system on evaluation
In case the model does not solve you may open the model in MAPDL to review the mesh before solving by
adding a MAPDL system to the “Setup” component of your analysis and the select “Edit in Mechanical APDL…”.
This allows you to inspect the weld mesh and element quality etc. prior to solving. There is a component
(Named Selection) named “FILLETWELDGROUPELEM” that contains all fillet welds created by the app.
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If you have planar geometry and no gaps or for some other reason don’t want to morph the weld contact
nodes to the target face you may tag the weld object with the tag “FilletWeldNoMorph” to exclude that weld
object from morphing. The default value for the new welds is defined in the preference file. (The tag is
automatically added to the project when adding a Fillet Welds Group.)
Weld Mesh Geometry

Intermittent welds will be correctly placed on open and closed edge chains. An open chain will always have a
weld segment in the beginning and the end of the edge chain. A closed chain will have evenly spaced weld
segments. You may also mix open and closed edge chains in one weld object.
The first edge in a chain selection is used to define the start vertex and the second edge is used to define the
direction of the section path.
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For a weld seam with free ends (an open chain) the start and end of the weld can be offset from the start and
end vertex using the property “Free end offset”. The default value is defined by the parameter
weldElementEndOffset (default 0.0 m) in the preference file.
If the angle between the tangents of two connected sections or individual weld segments is greater than 45
degrees the weld seam is split to avoid warped elements, see the weld corners in the picture below.
End Offset
Sharp corner
The weld seam is also checked for negative volume elements that may occur if the throat thickness is greater
than the section edge curvature at an inner radius.
Combining “Add fillet weld” with standard contacts between the connected parts may cause contact
constraint forces resulting in un-realistic weld results. For the same reason creating fillet welds on both the
inside and outside corner is not recommended.
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Intermittent weld parameters

For intermittent welds the parameters “Weld fraction”, “Number of Welds”, “Weld Length” and “Weld
Spacing” has relations to each other. When updating one parameter the other are updated automatically as
well. Assigning a new “Weld fraction” will recalculate the number of welds needed based on the current “Weld
Length” and then adjust to the actual “Total Weld Length” and “Section Length”. The resulting “Weld fraction”
is then re-calculated based on the discrete number of welds from “Total Weld Length” and “Section Length”
(Example below: Weld Fraction = 96*0.1/24.06 = 0.399).
Weld Spacing Weld Length
Also note that the minimum “Weld Length” and the maximum “Weld Spacing” are defined in the preference
file, see section “Open Preferences”.
If using Design Explorer to analyze different weld parameters use “Throat thickness”, “Number of Welds” and
“Weld Length” as input parameters and “Total Weld Length”, “Section Length” and “Total Weld Mass” as
output parameters. The resulting weld fraction can be derived as a new output parameter using an expression
for “Total Weld Length” divided by “Section Length”; “P5/P6”.
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Visualization of weld mesh, weld stress and contact results

The mesh material number (PNUMMAT) can be visualized using a “User Defined Result” with Scoping Method:
“Result File Item”. A new menu with short cuts for these results is available in the toolbar “Mesh Results”, see
the section in the end.
The weld stress results can be plotted for the entire model or for specific material numbers using the Scoping
Method: “Result File Item”. To plot only solid elements use: “Item Type: Element Name IDs” and “IDs:
185,186,187,190”. Note: Use “Fillet Weld Strength” to post process specific weld code results.
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In case of complex geometry with curvature and gaps the weld contact status can be verified by a “Rst Contact
Status”. The contact status values have the following meaning;
0: Open far, 1: Open near, 2: Closed sliding, 3: Closed sticking (Bonded).
Weld Geometry Export

The fillet weld mesh and weld lines can be exported prior to solving the model using the context menu option
“Export all Fillet Welds” on the “Fillet Welds Group”. The mesh is written to the ANSYS cdb file
“FilletWeldGroupExport.cdb” in the “Solver Files Directory” subfolder “WeldStrength”. This weld mesh will not
be morphed onto the reference and target faces and allows for easy conversion to solids using the steps
below.
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The fillet weld mesh (Solid185/Solid186) and the needed weld contacts are created during solution. By setting
the option “writeFilletWeldCdb = True” in the preference file all fillet weld mesh from the “Fillet Welds Group”
are exported to the ANSYS cdb file “FilletWeldGroup.cdb” in the “Solver Files Directory”. Read the cdb file in
an “External Model” and link the “Setup” cell to the “Model” cell of a “Mechanical Model” and finally link it to
a “Geometry” system to export to a target geometry format.
Individual weld lines can also be imported into Space Claim or Design Modeler. See the “Export Weld Line”
option for the weld objects.
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Model assembly
The Mechanical model of the welds can also be used in a model assembly with the original geometry for other
analyses, e.g. “Transient Thermal”.
Note: The “Fillet Weld” object can be defined in thermal analysis prior to the structural analysis without using
model assembly, see the analysis system A & B in “WeldToolkit-StrengthDemos_V212.1.wbpz” .
Export Weld Material

The selected weld material (from Engineering Data) can be exported and included in the Weld Strength default
materials. Right-click on weld and select “Export Weld Material”. When exported it will be available for future
analyses. The material properties are saved in a “dictionary” in the app installation folder in the file
“Materials.json” (same location as the preference file). This file can be edited using e.g. “Visual Studio Code”
or other text editors with plugins for json format. Keep a backup copy of the file. When installing a new version
of Weld Strength you may replace the default file with your custom version.
If the Engineering Data material name already exists in the weld material list you get the option to update the
material with the new properties defined in Engineering Data.
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Add Butt Welds

The “Add Butt Weld” is identical to “Add Fillet Weld” in all properties except for the “Weld Geometry Type”.
Two geometries are available: “V-Butt Weld” and “Bevel Butt Weld”. In both cases the base geometry is
assumed to have a chamfer where the weld material is placed, and a face connected to the weld section edge
that defines the weld direction. The weld geometry is identified based on the angle between these two faces.
The graphics display the throat thickness from the weld root up to the surface.
Curved and cylindrical geometry is also supported.
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Fillet and Butt Weld Strength

The “Fillet Weld Strength” and “Butt Weld Strength” is used to post process welds according to Eurocode 3 or
other codes. Click the “Fillet/Butt Weld Strength” button to add the corresponding result object to the current
solution (Static, Transient, Random Vibration, Response Spectrum). Multiple weld sections can be selected in
one result object and the sections are automatically grouped into different groups based on the edge
connectivity.
Inputs
• Weld Section: Select edges of a shell or solid model along the weld seam line. This is the location where
the results are plotted. The order the edges are selected are used to define the path direction.
The edge can be a shared edge in a shell or a multi-body part or a free edge from a contact face of a weld.
Edge to surface contacts as well as mesh connections are also allowed. For edge to edge contact the Weld
Section must use the Contact side and not Target side. See Table 3 on following page for selection logic.
• Reference Face: For each weld section select a face connected to the weld section edge. The face is used
to create a local cartesian or cylindrical coordinate system for the weld section extraction, see Table 3 of
pictures for valid selections.
The reference face should be selected from the part that is welded, meaning that the section forces are
extracted from the part the reference face belongs to.
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Before evaluation After evaluation

Using Tag: ”AlwaysPlotFilletWeld”
• Weld Geometry
Geometry select: [Manual select/Manual select with offset/Fillet Welds_IdXYZ] Use “Manual select *” to
post process welds defined by multi-body, node merge or contacts. Welds defined with the “Add
Fillet/Buttt Welds” must be selected from this list otherwise the weld results are not identified. Selecting
an existing weld in the list will select Weld Section, Reference Face, Type, Min Thickness, Free end offset
and Weld fraction automatically. You may edit and reorder or reduce the number of Weld Section edges.
Type: [Single sided/Double sided/Single sided intermittent/Double sided intermittent] Type of fillet weld,
see Table 3 below. The butt weld result object will only display “Butt weld” (read only).
Weld side: [Top/Bottom/Top&Bottom] Position the weld section in relation to the reference face and
display results from this side.
Min thickness: Weld throat thickness, default amin = 3 mm. If set to 0 program will calculate the needed
minimum thickness (and set the start thickness to “minWeldSize” defined in the preference file).
Calculate Min Thickness: [No/Yes]. Flag to indicate if weld thickness will be calculated. Can be used to
override the thickness defined for an “Add Fillet Weld” that is shown as a read only property.
Free end offset: Inactive weld length on an open weld chain. Used to calculate total effective weld length.
Weld fraction: For intermittent weld only. Ratio of Total Weld Length to Total Section Length, Lweld/Lsection
Total Weld Length: Read only property of weld length, Lweld, to help estimate welding time and cost.
• Weld Evaluation
Weld code: [Eurocode 3/Eurocode 3 Simplified/AWS Groove */AWS Fillet].
Weld code to use, see section “Weld codes”. (Custom weld codes can be added by the user, see section
“Custom weld Codes”)
Material: [S235/S275/S355/S420/S460/Unknown] Joint material grade to decide Correlation factor w,
safety factor M2 and Weld Strength Fu. (Material grades are defined in the preference file).
Correlation factor Bw: Correlation factor w. Default = 0.8.
Safety factor M2: Partial safety factor M2. Default = 1.25.
Weld strength Fu: Minimum of joint material ultimate limit, fu. Default = 360 MPa.
• Weld result
Result Item: [Section Length/Min thickness/Wuf/Seqv/Snormal/Tparallel/Tnormal/Ttotal/Sparallel
/Sbending/Sstruct/Bending ratio/FX/FY/FZ/Fsum/MY/MYutil/Force angle/Weld angle/Result location]
Result item to display. See section “Result listing” for available items and description.
Result averaging: [Floating/Segment/Section/Group] See section “Result averaging”.
Floating Factor: Floating factor from selected “Weld code”. Typing “0” will reset to default value.
Segment Length: Segment length. Default: L = floatingFact*amin adjusted to fit “Total Weld Length”.
Result location: Set the location of weld throat evaluation [Auto,0.5] Auto: Use the most critical of the
defined locations defined in the weld code. 0: At the reference face, 0.5 throat section, 1: target face.
Calculate Time History: [No/Yes] Evaluate all results steps. Set to No to speed up post processing.
Display Graph: [No/Yes] If “Calc Time History=No” the path result is displayed in the “Graph” window.
Scale Factor Value: Scale factor to apply to the calculated loads. In a Random Vibration analysis this sets
the probability of the results (1:68.269%, 2:95.45%, 3:99.73%).
• Definition
By: [Time/Result Set/Maximum Over Time/Time Of Maximum] Mechanical standard property for
selecting display time, result set or maximum over time.
- 21 -
Table 3. Valid weld geometries and the Type, Weld section and Reference Face
Shell model Solid model Solid model Solid model
(no weld part) (no weld part) (weld part) (Add Fillet/Butt Weld)
1
Type: Single sided Type: Single sided Type: Single sided Type: Single sided
2
Type: Double sided Type: Double sided Type: Single sided Type: Single sided
3
4
5
Type: Single/Double sided Type: Single/Double sided Type: Single sided Type: Single sided
6
7
Type: V-Butt weld
Type: Butt weld Type: Butt weld Type: Butt weld Type: Bevel Butt weld
Notes on Weld Section: One special case is the double-sided solid model without weld elements (row 2 & 5,
2nd column in Table 3). In this case you may select both edges (one from each side) connected to the same
contact or shared nodes to visualize the results in all places where there is a weld. You must still use Type:
“Double Sided” since the weld forces are evaluated from one common contact or shared face.
Notes on Type: The “Type” relates to the number of welds that are connected to the “Weld section” selection
and not direct to the weld joint type whether it is a physical single or double-sided weld joint. This simply sets
the scale factor on the forces to correctly evaluate the weld stress. A butt weld is always treated as a “single
sided” weld.
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Notes on weld offset:

In a single-sided weld without weld elements (shell or solid) the option “Manual select with offset” will include
the shell or solid part thickness to calculate the added bending moment, MY, a vertical force has on the weld.
This moment is added to the existing bending moment, MY, and will add to the bending stress calculation.
FZ

a1
t
b = MY/Wa1
MY = FZ*dM
dM = 0.5*(t + a1sin(1))
In a double-sided weld without weld elements (shell or solid) a bending moment, MY, is balanced by an
internal force pair, FZM, in the throat section. This force is used to calculate the bending stress, b, (normal to
the section). This force is also added to the existing FZ force and contributes therefore to the normal and shear
stress evaluation to handle bending effects correct.
MY
t 
a1
b = FZM*sin(1)/a1
-FZM FZM = MY/dM

dM = t + a1sin(1)
Note: For a solid weld or “Add fillet weld” the offset effect is included automatically from the reaction forces
and moments in the elements of the weld section.
- 23 -
Notes on weld side:

The weld throat section location is displayed as a red (min throat thickness) and green line (local Y coordinate).
The location can be flipped using the property “Weld Side”.
For a model without weld elements the user may select one specific side for a single sided weld (Top or
Bottom).
A double-sided weld can also be evaluated for each side individually or the worst from both sides at the same
time by using the combined “Top/Bottom” option.
For a solid model with weld contacts the “Weld Side” property will also control where to find the contact
elements to extract the weld forces.
Weld elements No weld elements
Contact face Contact face
Same as ref. Not same as ref.
Weld Side: Bottom Weld Side: Top

For a multi-body part the app will always look for a shared face connected to the weld section edge.
It will start by checking if the reference face is the shared face as in the left figure above and then check for the
other face.
Notes on weld parts:

In previous versions of the Weld Strength app an alternative method for evaluation a filled weld was
described. This method is not needed anymore since the weld section is placed correct using the “Weld Side”
property but there are still two cases where this method is needed.
In a model with weld elements where the weld part is divided at the throat section (A) the “Butt weld” must
be used to position the weld section correctly. The same is also valid for a shell model (B).
A B
Type: Butt Weld
Notes on cruciform joints:

In a cruciform joint make sure to select correct section and edge. In the case below where one continuous
horizontal part connects to one vertical through a cut out.
- 24 -
Notes on output control:

If you insert the Weld Strength object before solution the needed output control ”Nodal Forces” is set to “Yes”
(in Analysis Settings). If you insert the Weld Strength object after the analysis without including nodal forces
there will be no results and you must re-run the analysis.
Notes on bonded contact vs. multi-body:
Using bonded contact for the weld is preferably for two reasons. First it is easier to mesh and you can easily
use parameters on geometry. Second the weld forces are evaluated based on the contact forces only. In a
multi-body part the root edge of the weld is shared in two shared faces that will cause a small error in the
reaction force summation. In the contact section the forces are derived from the contact side of the contact
pair. To have the best results you must make sure that the contact side is on the weld part and to use
“Asymmetric” behavior since the contact side normally has the finer mesh. (The “Create Weld contacts” will
use these settings).
MPC contacts are not allowed because they don’t save contact results. Also note that “Program Controlled”
formulation may use MPC so make sure that e.g. “Augmented Lagrange” or “Pure Penalty” method is used.
Edge to surface contact for both shell parts and solid parts are also allowed and has the same result quality as
multi-body parts, i.e. the results will be based on nodal forces.
Notes on shared face for solid models (no weld elements):
If using surface to surface contact or multi-body parts to connect the model without weld elements the app
will find the contact/shared face, marked green in the figure, to extract the forces. This may be one and the
same face for all edges of the weld section. The app will reselect nodes from the face using the weld section
length and 5 times the weld Min thickness, a, in depth to get the local forces for the weld section and not
include nodes from the other side. The force listing is done once using the initial value of Min thickness or 3
mm if Min thickness is set to 0. Updating the Min thickness re-use the existing forces. To force a re-evaluation
of the nodal forces select the weld object and click “Clear selected Weld Result Files” before evaluate the
result again.
To avoid selecting too few or too many nodes (depending on geometry) you may:
• Set the initial Min thickness, a, so that the 5*a selects the desired depth for extracting the weld forces.
• Split the shared face (in Design Modeler or Space Claim) so each weld section edge has each unique
contact/shared face.
5*a
- 25 -
Weld Codes
Eurocode 3
The weld analysis is based on section “4.5.3.2 Directional method” in Eurocode 3 [2].
A uniform distribution of stress is assumed on the throat section of the weld, leading to the normal stresses
and shear stresses shown below.
 = normal stress perpendicular to weld throat plane
⊥ ⊥
 = normal stress parallel to weld axis
 //

 = shear stress in plane, perpendicular to weld axis
⊥
 = shear stress in plane, parallel to weld axis
//
 // ⊥
The weld seam is assumed to have sufficient strength if both conditions below are fulfilled:
0.9  f u
 Eqv =  ⊥2 + 3  ( ⊥2 +  //2 ) 
fu
= f uEqv and  ⊥  = fu⊥
w  M 2 M2
fu Nominal ultimate tensile strength
w Correlation factor for material according to table 4.1 in Eurocode 3
M2 Partial safety factor for joints. M2= 1.25 for welded connections
Table 4.1 Eurocode 3 [2]. Data for fu valid for thickness < 40 mm.
Steel Grade Correlation factor W fu [MPa]
S235 0.80 360
S275 0.85 410
S355 0.90 470
S420 1.00 520
S460 1.00 540
Eurocode 3 Simplified
The method based on section “4.5.3.3 Simplified method for design resistance of fillet weld” is also
implemented. This method is a “floating average” method where the local stress intensity, independent of the
orientation, is compared with the shear strength resistance. The stress for each node along the weld is the
average from a section length of 2*a, where a = min throat thickness. Note: the “Result averaging” must be set
to “Floating” for this to work.
fu / 3
 Eqv =  ⊥2 +  ⊥2 +  //2  = f vwd
w   M 2
- 26 -
AWS
The method is based on AWS D1.1/AISC 360-16 Table J2.5 [5] and defines the weld capacity for butt (groove)
welds and fillet welds differently. The “Equivalent stress”, Eqv, is used to define the total shear stress, , in the
equations in the preference file. The base metal shear strength is assumed to be 57.7% of the ultimate
strength.
Groove welds, Complete Joint Penetration

Strength of the joint is controlled by the base metal.
Tension and compression normal to weld axis: 𝜎⊥ ≤ 𝐹𝑛𝐵𝑀 = 𝐹𝑢
Shear: 𝜏 = 𝜎𝐸𝑞𝑣 = √𝜏⊥2 + 𝜏∥2 ≤ 𝐹𝑛𝐵𝑀 = 0.577𝐹𝑢

Groove weld, Partial Joint Penetration
0.6
Tension (and compression) normal to weld axis: 𝜎⊥ ≤ 𝐹𝑛𝑤 = 1.88 𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 = 0.319𝐹𝑢
0.6
Shear: 𝜏 = 𝜎𝐸𝑞𝑣 = √𝜏⊥2 + 𝜏∥2 ≤ 2.0 𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 = 0.3𝐹𝑢
Fillet welds
The allowable stress, Fnw, in a linear weld group loaded in-plane through the center of gravity is the following:
Fnw = 0.30FEXX(1.0 + 0.50sin1.5)
FEXX = electrode minimum strength (Fu)
 = angle of loading measured from the weld longitudinal axis.
The total “equivalent” stress is calculated as the vector sum of the weld section stresses.
𝜎𝐸𝑞𝑣 = √𝜎⊥2 + 𝜏⊥2 + 𝜏∥2 ≤ 𝐹𝑛𝑤
User
In the Weld Strength preference file “weldStrengthPref.py” in the installation folder there is an example for
defining a “User” weld code. In this example the equivalent weld stress is only compared with the nominal
weld strength, fu, divided by M2.
 Eqv =  ⊥2 + 3  ( ⊥2 +  //2 ) 
fu
= f uEqv
M2
Additional weld codes based on component and structural stresses can be defined, see section “Custom weld
codes” for more information.
Additional post-processing.
The weld results for each result object are automatically exported to a csv file. Combining the csv files for
different load steps allows for stress range and fatigue life calculation outside of the app, e.g. in “Microsoft
Excel”.
Using the free app “CSV Plot” the strength or fatigue results can be plotted back on the geometry for easy to
view post processing. See the section “External post processing” for more details.
The csv file may also be used with the feature “CSV fatigue” where an imported stress list can be evaluated
against a selected S-N curve.
- 27 -
Weld Result
General
The default result item is the “Weld utilization factor”, Wuf, along the weld, i.e. how much of the weld capacity
that is used;
  Eqv  ⊥ 
Wuf = max  ,  (Eurocode 3)
 uEqv f u ⊥ 
f
If the Calculate Min Thickness is set to “Yes” (or Min thickness is set to 0) then the minimum allowed thickness
along the weld is calculated. The initial thickness is set to 3 mm and stepwise increased by 1 mm until Wuf ≤
1.0. The initial thickness and increment can be edited in the preference file, see the section: “General
Preferences”. The min and max values can be assigned as an output parameter for parameter studies.
There is no check of the plate thickness and a recommended maximum weld thickness.
The maximum allowed calculated weld thickness is limited to 99 mm. This may be edited in the preference file,
see the section: “General Preferences”. If the calculated weld thickness is larger the thickness is set to 999 mm
indicating an un-converged weld size calculation. This is an indication of a poor design in relation to the loads.
If the weld thickness is much larger than the plate thickness the failure will occur in the plate instead, hence a
poor design.
It is recommended to update the model with respect to the proposed weld throat thickness since the stiffness
change may influence the force distribution and hence the weld evaluation as well as the nodal average that is
based on the weld thickness. If using the “Add Fillet Weld” updating the model is quick and easy.
Bending moment check
Bending moment parallel to the weld is not considered in the evaluation of the weld stress according to
Eurocode 3 or AWS since the bending average stress is zero in straight sections of butt weld (A) or single sided
fillet welds (B). For a shell or solid double-sided fillet weld without weld elements (C) the bending moment will
result in a force pair with average weld forces that is non-zero.
A check is implemented to calculate the “Moment utilization” (MY util) that is the ratio of bending moment
(MY (parallel)) and maximum plastic moment capacity, Mplast.
If the section moment is higher than Mplast a warning message is issued, and the section Id and time step is
listed in the messages window.
(A) (B) Mplast (C) Mplast
a a
t
 = fu
Mplast a F
F
A & B: Mplast = 0.5*F*a = 0.5*(0.5**a*L)*a = 0.25*fu*L*a2 (L: section length)

C: Mplast = F*(t+a/√2) = (*a*L/√2)*(t+a/√2) = fu*a*L/√2*(t+a/√2)
Note: For a double-sided solid model with weld elements the forces and moments are derived for each weld
seam individual and the moment utilization is treated as a single sided fillet weld. Tests shows that the derived
moment utilization is similar compared to the case without weld elements.
- 28 -
Result averaging
Eurocode 3 specifies that a load carrying weld must not be shorter than the maximum of 30 mm or 6 times the
throat thickness. There is also a limit on how long a weld can be to consider a uniform stress distribution. Since
FE is used that will account for a non-uniform stress distribution the following modified approach is used when
deriving the section forces and calculating the utilization factor in order to be conservative especially regarding
long welds.
All results can be viewed with different averaging methods; “Floating”, “Segment”, “Section” or “Group”.
Section average displays a constant result value for each section edge based on the total section forces. This
can be very un-conservative for long welds as well as over conservative for short edge segments in a long
continuous weld.
Floating average sums the section forces along the section edges based on a centered selection around each
node with the length of 6*a, where a = min throat thickness.
For a short single weld (length  6*a) this method will give a constant result over the weld.
For a longer weld the method will typically “highlight” the ends of the weld or inner points depending on how
the load is applied. At a free end the effective average length will be “3*a” since a centered selection is used.
The floating length factor can be modified for each weld code in the preference file “weldStrengthPref.py” in
the installation folder, see the section “General Preferences” for more information. The default value for
“Floating factor” is displayed in the result details and can easily be edited for the selected result.
Segment average splits the edge chain in virtual segments of the length “Floating length” and displays a
constant value based on the summed forces from each segment. The “Segment length” can easily be edited
and is automatically adjusted to fit the length of the weld. The initial length is based on the default “Floating
factor”. There is an option “condensedSegmentCSV” in the preference file that if set to “True” will only list one
node result per segment in the result csv file.
Group average displays a constant result value for all connected section edges based on the weighted sum of
the individual section results in relation to the total effective group length including “Free end offset”. This is
useful for plotting the total force intensity to verify with applied forces and moments etc. Group average may
be misleading in the case of a closed weld loop. A global shear force (F) will result in zero parallel group force
(Y) since the local coordinates X and Y are following the weld line and the force on one side will cancel out the
force on the other side. The group forces or weld stresses may cancel out but the weld utilization, Wuf, is not
influenced since it is based on the sum of the individual edge results and not the global forces.
X
Y
Y F
X
X
Y
Y
X
Note:
Each edge section in the weld result is grouped to find adjacent edges so that the floating, segment and group
average will correctly evaluate over edge ends and short edge segments. If only selecting one or a few of the
edges in a weld the floating, segment and group average are based on those edges only ignoring that the weld
may be longer.
- 29 -
A comparison of result averaging “Floating” vs. “Segment” vs. “Section”.
A comparison between “Floating” and “Segment” path result is shown in the figures below.
An individual graph can be displayed by setting “Display Graph=Yes”.
Floating 6a vs Segment 6a & 12a
1.6
Floating 6a
1.4 Segment 6a
1.2 Segment 12a
1
Wuf [-]
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
Section position (Y) [m]
Note: If using “condensedSegmentCSV =True” the graph will not display correct if using segment average.
- 30 -
Throat section result calculation

The option “evalSect” in the preference file can be used to define an arbitrary number of throat sections to
evaluate. The default is “k1 = 0.5” that corresponds to the middle of the weld at the min throat thickness.
The sign of the section forces and stresses are based on reactions in the shown coordinate systems below.
The local stresses are derived using the following equations:
Single sided: loadFact = 1, Double sided: loadFact = 0.5

FZ
1 = k1 ez
 = − = −k1 = (−k1) where: 0 ≤ k1 ≤ 1 n1

a1 = amin/cos1
n1 = loadFact(FZcos1 + FXsin1)/a1 FX
n1 = loadFact(FXcos1 - FZsin1)/a1 ex

n1
If “Double sided” weld and “Weld side” set to ”Top/Bottom” the other side is also evaluated.
2 = k1(180-)
 = (−)− = (180-)(0.5-k1)
a2 = amin/cos2
n2 = loadFact(FZcos2 - FXsin2)/a2
n2 = loadFact(-FXcos2 - FZsin2)/a2
FZ
ez
n1
n2 
a1 
2
FX
a2 amin ex

 
n1
-FX 2
n2
- 31 -
Structural stress
One limitation with Eurocode 3 is that pure bending stress over the throat section is neglected in the
evaluation. Many other static and fatigue evaluation methods use structural stress; s = n + b
In addition to the result item bending moment intensity “MY (parallel)” and the normal stress, n, the bending
stress, b, structural stress, s, and bending ratio, Br (Br = b /s) are available.
b = MY/W, where W = La2/6, L: length of the weld section, a: height of weld section
s = abs(n) + abs(b) The structural stress is saved as the absolute maximum of the stress.
Depending on selected “Result location” the value of bending stress will vary since the throat thickness, a, is a
function of weld angle and thus also W.
Typically, the bending stress in the throat is a factor of two compared to the bending stress at the leg section.
Sb amin = 6MY/(Lamin2), Sb leg = 6MY/(L(2amin)2) = 6MY/(2Lamin2)
Sb amin/Sb leg = (6MY/(Lamin2))/(6MY/(2Lamin2)) = 2
The bending and structural stress may be used when defining a user defined weld code, see section at the end.
To access the structural stress in the weld leg sections, k1 = 0 and k1 = 1, the weld code property “evalSect”
must be edited to include the sections to access, e.g.:
weldCodes['User'].Add('evalSect',[0.0,0.25,0.5,0.75,1.0])
In the result object set “Result Location” to 1.0 to evaluate the results at the opposing face to the reference
face. Set it to 0.5 to evaluate at the minimum throat thickness.
F
F
 = k1* = 1.0*90° = 90°  = k1* = 0.5*90° = 45°

a1 a1 = amin
s
s
If the weld is a solid part, select the reference face at the same leg that you want to evaluate the structural
stress since the moment is extracted from the weld leg at the reference face. For the “Add fillet weld” the
moment is always extracted at the mid throat section.
- 32 -
Result listing
For each weld result object, a csv file is created for each result set (or time) listing all results for all nodes
based on the selected type, min thickness, weld code, material, average etc. This file can be used for plotting
path results in e.g. Microsoft Excel or perform load step combinations or other post processing tasks. The
results can then be plotted back using the app “CSV Plot” (Free on ANSYS app store).
The weld stress results, e.g. the “Structural Stress” may also be post processed using the feature “CSV Fatigue”
for life evaluation using a custom S-N curve.
The results are grouped for each chain of edges and sorted with respect to the edge connectivity.
The group average is identified by Node Id = 0 and Sect Id = 0. The section average is identified by Node Id = 0.
Node Id Weld Section Node number
Group Id Weld Section Group number
Sect Id Weld Section edge “Reference Id”. (Use selection information to see the Id number(*))
Section Section path position or Weld section edge length (Node Id = 0) or group length (Sect Id = 0)
Position
Min thickness Actual or calculated min needed weld throat thickness to fulfil Wuf < 1
Wuf Weld utilization factor
Seqv Equivalent stress based on selected weld code, Eqv
Snormal Normal stress, n (or ⊥)
Tparallel Parallel shear stress, p (or )
Tnormal Normal shear stress, n (or ⊥)
Ttotal Total shear stress, t
Sparallel Parallel stress, p (or )
Sbending Bending stress, b
Sstruct Structural stress, s = abs(n) + abs(b)
Bending ratio: Bending stress ratio, Br = abs(b)/s
FX (radial): Force intensity normal or radial to the weld section reference face
FY (parall): Force intensity parallel or tangential to the weld section
FZ (axial): Force intensity perpendicular to the weld section (axial)
Fsum: Total force intensity along the weld section
MY (parallel): Moment intensity parallel to the weld section
MY util: Moment utilization; ratio of MY and maximum plastic moment capacity
Force angle Force reaction angle relative to weld section axis,  (used for AWS fillet calculation)
Weld angle Average weld angle for the section, 
Result location Relative location for critical section. 0: at reference face, 0.5: throat section, 1: other face
Note 1: The listing of FX, FY, FZ and Fsum is of type “Force Intensity”, i.e. [N/m]. To get the total force for a
weld multiply the force intensity by the section length (Sect L).
MY (parall) is of type “Moment intensity”, i.e. [Nm/m] = [N]. The coordinate system can be shown by tagging
the result with “AlwaysPlotWeldcsys”.
Force and moment intensity for a double-sided weld is reported per weld. The sign for stresses and forces are
defined as the reaction on the reference face part.
Z
⊥ 
 Y

 Fsum
⊥ X
- 33 -
(*)
Beta options are activated from Workbench Project page, Tools > Options…
When selecting an edge the Id number is displayed in the “Selection Information” pane.
The weld graphics is now updated and prints the Id number on the edge centroid.
- 34 -
Random Vibration results

When post processing a Random vibration analysis a general warning is shown from Mechanical “The result
definitions may not be one-sigma random vibration results. Please use with caution.” This message is show
independent on the defined scale factor that defines the probability of the results.
Scale Factor = 1: Scale Factor = 3:

1 Sigma 68.269% 3 Sigma 99.73%
General Eurocode 3 recommendations

• Weldable structural steels conforming to EN 1993-1-1.
• The plate thickness must be larger than or equal to 4 mm.
• The weld filler material yield and ultimate limit must be equal or better than the base material.
• Load carrying fillet welds must be longer than 30 mm or 6 times the throat thickness (a-value).
• Quality level C according to EN ISO 25817 is usually required.
• Lamellar tearing should be avoided (see EN 1993-1-10), see “Lamellar Strength” result.
• The angle between the plates in a fillet weld must be in the range of 60° – 120°.
Validity of the weld strength results

It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that the FE-model, chosen method, input values and results obtained by
this application is suitable for his/her intended purpose, e.g. to evaluate according to a specific design code or
to apply strength modification factors due to misalignment etc.
For user defined weld codes, it is also the user’s responsibility to verify the validity of the method, e.g. by using
test and verification models together with hand calculation.
- 35 -
Using external post processing

Weld section raw data
The nodal coordinate data are extracted for each weld section in a local cartesian or cylindrical coordinate
system (DSYS). This coordinate system may be plotted in Mechanical by activating the tag
“AlwaysPlotAPDLcsys”. In this way you may verify that the geometry information is correct.
The cartesian system origin is at the edge start vertex, Y-axis along edge and X-axis normal to reference
surface. The cylindrical system origin is at the axis of the reference face, X-axis pointing to the edge start
vertex, Z-axis defined so positive rotation is towards the end vertex.
The nodal forces are saved in the global coordinate system (RSYS = 0). The reason for this is that the floating
average first sums the forces and then project onto the local coordinate system of the weld.
The nodal coordinates and forces are saved in text files in folder “WeldStrength” in the solution folder. These
files may be used for any purpose in external post processing.
The corresponding listing can be made in Mechanical by creating “User Defined Results” for the weld section
nodes with expression “ENFOX”, “ENFOY” and “ENFOZ” in the global coordinate system and export to text
files.
The local coordinate system, (DSYS), has origin at the Weld Section edge start point, Y axis along the edge, X
axis normal to the Reference Face and Z axis in-plane of the Reference Face. For cylindrical faces origin is at the
radial center point, X axis is radial pointing to the start vertex, Y axis is tangential, and Z axis is axial.
The files created from Weld Strength are:
weld_sect_n_SId[edgeId].lis Node coordinates for the Weld Section edge

weld_n_SId[edgeId]_Fid[faceId].lis Node coordinates related to the Weld section elements
weld_f_SId[edgeId]_Fid[faceId]_Set[NSET].lis Nodal forces for the Weld section at result set number “NSET”
weld_m_SId[edgeId]_Fid[faceId]_Set[NSET].lis Nodal moments (Only for shell parts)
The set number, NSET, is the incremental number from all available result sets, not the load step or time.
Corresponding MAPDL command: “SET, , , , , , ,NSET”
The “edgeId” and “faceId” is the “REFERENCE_ID” found in the “Selection Information” for the edge and face.
- 36 -
Verification
A number of verification examples are saved in the Workbench archive file, “WeldToolkit-
StrengthVerification_V212.1.wbpz”.
Weld Cases, Wuf (Eurocode 3)

The valid weld sections according to Table 1 are verified in the system “Weld Cases EC3”. The models are
tested for pure shear force and pure normal force loading. The new “Group average” including “Free end
offset” is used in the evaluation. The hand caluclation is found in the Mechanical model as as “Comment” for
each result. The solid welds are created using both “Add Fillet/Butt Weld” and CAD parts.
It it not recommended to build weld elements in shell models since it is much easier to use solid shell meshing
and the “Add Fillet Weld”.
For pure shear loading all models shows good agreement with hand calculation. The shell “Offset Type” may
influence the results a bit especially for cylindrical faces.
For pure normal loading models with solid weld elements tend to give higher weld utilization due to additional
constraint forces.
Table 4. Comparison of section average weld utilization, Wuf, between hand calculation and FE-model (EC3).
LC1. Shear load LC2. Normal load
A B C D A B C D
Hand Shell Solid Solid Solid Hand Shell Solid Solid Solid
Row Joint calc (No weld) (No weld) (Weld part) (Add weld) calc (No weld) (No weld) (Weld part) (Add weld)
1 T-joint Single sided 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.55
2 T-joint Double sided 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.32 0.33 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.78 +192% 0.82 +208%
3 Lap joint 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53
4 Cyl joint 1 1 0.78 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.75 -4% 0.45 0.51 +15% 0.48 +8% 0.52 +16% 0.56 +26%
5 Cyl joint 1 2 0.78 0.82 0.78 0.78 0.75 -4% 0.45 0.46 +4% 0.43 -4% 0.53 +18% 0.58 +30%
6 Cyl joint 2 0.84 0.84 0.84 0.83 0.84 0.47 0.64 +35% 0.69 +45% 0.71 +50% 0.72 +52%
7 Planar Butt Joint 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.52
8 Cyl Butt joint 0.78 0.78 0.83 +7% 0.77 0.90 +15% 0.45 0.44 0.44 0.41 -7% 0.48 +7%
It is worth mentioning that only in the simplest loading cases it is possible to get agreement with hand
calculation. If you have multiple welds around a bracket you cannot predict the elastic force distribution by
hand, only a possible plastic limit state distribution. Also, in case of modelled welds and combined loadings
constraint forces may occur in the welds that is not predicted by hand calculation, e.g. in a double-sided fillet
- 37 -
weld with only normal loading (C2/D2) or cylindrical joints (row 4-6) you may get high normal stress due to the
deformation of the structure.
If instead looking at the calculated force intensity in the direction of the applied load the results are perfect.
The only noticeable difference is for cylindrical welds where the weld forces acts at a different radius
compared to the Weld Section” edge. If the effective weld radius is bigger the total shear force from the
applied moment load is smaller and thus the force intensity is lower compared to the hand calculation where
the effective radius and length is taken from the inner radius of the weld (at the section edge). For the butt
weld (D8) the section edge is shorter than the length used in the hand calculation and thus the intensity is
higher.
Table 5. Comparison of section force intensity between hand calculation and FE-model (EC3).
LC1. Shear load (N/mm) LC2. Normal load (N/mm)
A B C D A B C D
Hand Shell Solid Solid Solid Hand Shell Solid Solid Solid
Row Joint calc (No weld) (No weld) (Weld part) (Add weld) calc (No weld) (No weld) (Weld part) (Add weld)
1 T-joint Single sided 543.5 543.5 543.5 538.4 543.5 543.5 543.5 543.5 536.1 553.1
2 T-joint Double sided 271.7 271.7 271.7 269.2 271.7 271.7 271.7 271.7 269.4 272.0
3 Lap joint 543.5 543.5 543.5 538.1 543.6 543.5 543.5 543.5 538.8 543.5
4 Cyl joint 1 1 649.6 650.9 660.4 645.6 625.3 -4% 454.7 454.7 442.1 450.5 454.7
5 Cyl joint 1 2 649.6 678.4 +4% 649.6 645.8 625.3 -4% 454.7 484.1 +6% 454.7 450.3 454.8
6 Cyl joint 2 694.4 693.9 694.5 691.8 694.7 694.4 663.1 -5% 695.3 690.3 695.2
7 Planar Butt Joint 543.5 543.5 543.5 536.9 543.5 543.5 543.5 543.5 538.9 543.5
8 Cyl Butt joint 649.6 648.6 691.6 642.0 745.7 +15% 454.7 454.7 451.3 430.1 -5% 496.7 +9%
Weld Cases, Wuf (AWS)

The AWS method is verified by rotating the load from shear load to normal load in five steps and calculate the
utilization. For butt weld only shear and normal load is evaluated. See the system “Weld Cases AWS”.
The calculated utilization matches the hand calculation perfect for single sided fillet weld and butt weld. For
double sided solid weld etc. we may see similar differences as for Eurocode 3 due to constraint forces in the
model not accounted for in hand calculation.
Table 6. Comparison of section average weld utilization, Wuf, between hand calculation and FE-model (AWS).
Load angle Hand calc Shell (No weld) Solid (No weld) Solid (Weld part) Solid (Add weld)
Row Joint Phi [deg] Wuf A B C D
1 T-joint Single sided 0 1.26 1.26 1.26 1.25 1.26
1 T-joint Single sided 22.5 1.13 1.12 1.12 1.11 1.13
1 T-joint Single sided 67.5 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87
7 Planar Butt-Joint 0 1.25 1.26 1.26 1.24 1.26
7 Planar Butt-Joint 90 1.18 1.18 1.18 1.17 1.18
Weld Cases, Structural stress

The bending and structural stress works for all types of models and is mesh size independent, see the system
“Structural Stress”. If using a weld part (Model C) the structural stress is dependent of the reference face since
the moment is calculated around the centroid of the selected weld reference face. The “Result location”
influence the bending stress calculation a lot, see the comment in the section “Structural stress” in chapter
“Weld Results”.
Note that “Eurocode 3” only evaluate at the throat section by default (Result location = 0.5). To evaluate at the
weld legs the weld code must be edited to add additional “Result locations”, see the “User” weld code.
- 38 -
The test load is an axial force, FZ = 5000 N, and a bending force, FY = 1000 N. The throat thickness, a = 4 mm,
and weld length, l = 100 mm, bending leverage h = 50 mm. Bending moment, MY = FY*h = 1000*50 = 50e3
Nmm.
Weld area; A = 100*5 = 500 mm2

Weld sect; W = l*a2/6 = 100*52/6 = 416.6 mm3
n = (5000-1000)/500/sqrt(2) = 5.66 MPa

n = (5000+1000)/500/sqrt(2) = 8.49 MPa
eqv = sqrt(5.662+3*8.492) = 15.76 MPa
b = MY/W = 50e3/416.6 = 120 MPa
s = n + b = 125.7 MPa
With solid weld the weld offset adds moment due to the plate thickness (0.5*5 mm) and weld (0.5*5/ 2).
The offset effect can also be included in models without weld by using “Manual select with offset”.
MY = 1000*(50-1.77) + 5000*(2.5+1.77) = 69580 Nmm

b = 69580/416.6 = 167.0 MPa
s = n + b = 172.7 MPa
A
B
1 C
D
Table 7. Comparison of section average structural stress between hand calculation and FE-model.
Bending load, Structural Stress
A B C D
Row Joint Hand Shell Solid Solid Solid
calc (No weld) (No weld) (Weld part) (Add Weld)
1 T-joint Single sided No offset:125.7 125.7 125.7 Vert ref: 147.2 Throat elem 1: 173.4 +0.4%
With offset: 172.7 176.9 176.9 Hor ref: 198.1 Throat elem 2: 176.3 +2.1%
Avg: 172.7 Throat elem 3: 169.6 -1.8%
Throat elem 4: 170.7 -1.2%
7 Planar Butt Joint 130.0 130.0 130.0 130.0 Throat elem 1: 135.6 +4%
(Bevel) Throat elem 2: 135.6 +4%
Throat elem 3: 135.5 +4%
Throat elem 4: 135.5 +4%
7 Planar V-Butt Joint Throat elem 3: 136.0 +5%
- 39 -
Comparison weld mesh methods

The different meshing methods using shell or solid elements and representing the weld with or without
elements will influence the results. The following demo model illustrates the difference, see the system “Weld
Mesh Options”.
The shell models have the thickness offset inwards. The solid models use solid shell (SOLSH190) except for the
weld part itself. The models are created in ascending complexity/quality where model 9 is the reference model
using the “Add Fillet Weld” with 4 elements over the throat section.
Pipe 1: Shell (no weld), shared topology

Pipe 2: Shell (no weld), edge to face contact
Pipe 3: Shell (no weld), edge to face mesh connection
Pipe 4: Solid (no weld), shared topology
Pipe 5: Solid (no weld), face to face contact
Pipe 6: Solid (no weld), edge to face contact
Pipe 7: Solid (weld), shared topology
Pipe 8: Solid (weld), face to face contact
Pipe 9: Solid (weld), Add Fillet Weld (reference)
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
A bending load adds shear and normal forces on the welds. The three pipes with welds (7 - 9) has slightly lower
deformation since the welds adds stiffness to the structure. The other pipes have identical deformation and
hence stiffness. A second load step adds a pure axial load to the pipes.
- 40 -
The Weld Strength result shows that the pipes without welds have almost identical results and the three pipes
with welds has slightly different results.
LC 1
LC 2
Von Mises stress
Pipe 9 (4 el)
Pipe 8
- 41 -
The floating average of weld utilization factor, Wuf, for each pipe is plotted in the graphs below. The
difference is discussed on the following page.
Comparison Wuf LC1

0.25
Path
0.20
Wuf 1
Wuf 2
0.15
Wuf 3
Wuf [-]
Wuf 4
Wuf 5
0.10
Wuf 6
Wuf 7
Wuf 8
0.05
Wuf 9
0.00
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20
Path position Y [m]
Comparison Wuf LC2

0.25
0.20
Wuf 1
Wuf 2
0.15
Wuf 3
Wuf [-]
Wuf 4
Wuf 5
0.10
Wuf 6
Wuf 7
Wuf 8
0.05
Wuf 9
0.00
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20
Path position Y [m]
The following bar plot shows the average Wuf along the weld for all models. The bending load case, LC1, has a
variation of approximately ±15%. The shell models (1-3) have lower Wuf than the solid models. The solid
models with weld elements (7-9) have slightly higher Wuf than the models without welds.
For the tension load case, LC2, the variation in Wuf is smaller ±6%. and no clear trend is visible.
- 42 -
Wuf average
0.120
0.100
0.080
0.060
0.040
0.020
0.000
Wuf 1 Wuf 2 Wuf 3 Wuf 4 Wuf 5 Wuf 6 Wuf 7 Wuf 8 Wuf 9
LC1 LC2
Relative Wuf difference

20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Wuf 1 Wuf 2 Wuf 3 Wuf 4 Wuf 5 Wuf 6 Wuf 7 Wuf 8 Wuf 9
-5%
-10%
-15%
-20%
LC1 LC2
Shell models without weld elements (Pipe 1 - 3) has almost identical Wuf results independent of the joint
method but may differ depending on load case compared to the reference model. Shell models without weld
elements don’t have that much constraint forces that explains the lower Wuf in LC1 compared to the
reference model with weld elements. A solid multi-body part model with or without weld elements (Pipe 4 &
7) or a solid edge contact (Pipe 6) tends to over predict Wuf, see “Notes on bonded contact vs. multi-body” in
previous section.
The difference between Pipe 8 and Pipe 9 (reference) is that the section forces for the reference model are
extracted from the throat contact section and not the contact between the pipe and weld as for Pipe 8. Also
note that for a model with weld parts the result might differ depending on what side of the weld that is used
as the reference side. It is possible to use the planar faces of the weld in contact to the plate as well as the
faces in contact to the pipe.
- 43 -
Looking at the axial force intensity (FZ) all models have very similar results.
Comparison FZ LC1
150 000
100 000
Pipe 1
50 000 Pipe 2
Pipe 3
Pipe 4
F N/m
0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 Pipe 5
Pipe 6
Pipe 7
-50 000
Pipe 8
Pipe 9
-100 000
-150 000
Path position Y [m]
Comparison FZ LC2
100 000
50 000
Pipe 1
0 Pipe 2
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20
Pipe 3
FZ [N/m]
Pipe 4
-50 000
Pipe 5
Pipe 6
Pipe 7
-100 000
Pipe 8
Pipe 9
-150 000
-200 000
Path position Y [m]
- 44 -
Fillet and Butt Weld Strength Shell

The “Fillet Weld Strength Shell” and “Butt Weld Strength Shell” is used to post process welds in shell models.
The first difference compared to the standard Fillet and Butt Weld Strength result is that the results are
plotted on the elements attached to the weld section edge, see left part of figure below. This allows multiple
welds connected to the same edge to be evaluated at the same time. For large welded structures with many
cruciform joints all welds can then be evaluated at once since multiple reference faces can be selected for all
weld section edges.
The second difference is result averaging that has only two options “Element” and “Section”. Since element
size in large shell models is much greater than the weld throat thickness a floating or segment average does
not make sense. (The “Group” option is only meaningful if a single weld line is selected.)
Except for these two changes all other aspects of the result properties works in the same way.
A shell model may also be evaluated using the original “Weld Strength” result, see the demo “Cruciform Joint”
in “WeldToolkit-StrengthDemos_V212.1.wbpz”
- 45 -
Fillet and Butt Weld Strength Child

To speed up post processing the result objects “Fillet Weld Strength Child” and “Butt Weld Strength Child” are
available that can plot different result items from the selected result “Parent” using the same scoping.
If all result steps are evaluated from the “Parent” result (“Calculate Time History = Yes”) the child result can
evaluate any of the individual result steps or “Maximum over Time” etc.
Result averaging can be “Element/Floating/Segment” or “Section” or “Group”. If the parent result was
evaluated using “Segment” then the child will also display average as “Segment” (or “Section” or “Group”).
No new result csv files are written from the child result (since it uses the parent result csv file).
If the parent result is cleared all children results are also automatically cleared to reflect the changes in the
parent.
Note 1: If changing the scoping of the parent result you need to manually change the “Weld Result Parent” list
object between to results as the scoping is retrieved when selecting a new parent result in the list.
Note 2: If a parent result property is changed without clearing the result object first the child results is not
cleared. You must manually re-evaluate the child result to see any changes.
- 46 -
Lamellar Strength
The through-thickness toughness can be evaluated with the “Lamellar Strength” according to Eurocode 3
EN 1993-1-10 [4]. A verification model is saved in system “Lamellar Strength” in “WeldToolkit-
StrengthVerification_V212.1.wbpz”.
The lamellar tearing may be neglected if the following condition is satisfied: ZEd <= ZRd where ZEd is the required
design Z-value resulting from the magnitude of strains from restrained metal shrinkage under the weld beads.
ZRd is the available design Z-value for the material according to EN 10164, i.e. Z15, Z25 or Z35.
The required design value ZEd may be determined using:
ZEd = Za + Zb + Zc + Zd + Ze
In which Za, Zb, Zc, Zd and Ze are given in Table 3.2 (next page).
Select a weld to evaluate either by “Manual Select” or by a pre-defined fillet weld from the list.
Set the throat plate thickness. The values for Za and Zc are automatically defined.
To analyze if the weld has “Predominant compressive load” leave the list box at “Evaluate” otherwise set the
value to “Yes” or “No”. If “Yes” this parameter reduces Zc by 50%.
Based on the weld geometry select “Weld shape factor, Zb” from the list, see table on next side.
Select options for “Free shrinkage factor, Zd” and “Preheating factor, Ze” from the list.
The required maximum Z-value, ZEd, is listed based on the inputs.
The lamellar strength, ZRd, can be selected from the list or set to “Evaluate”.
Available result items are: [Section Length (Y)/Min thickness/Z_Ed/Z_Rd/FX (radial)/FY (parallel)/FZ
(axial)/Fsum/MY (parallel)/Weld angle]
Results can only be plotted using result average “Section”.
By using “Maximum over Time” the evaluation of “Predominant compressive load” checks all load steps to
determine if the weld is in compression when calculating the ZEd and ZRd.
- 47 -
- 48 -
Mesh Result
To post process non-geometric element results such as the “Add Fillet Weld” Mesh Result menu can be used.
The menu contains short cuts for potting “Result File Item” results.
To limit the plot to a specific bolt group first plot the material number (PNUMMAT) and probe the number for
the part of interest (15). Then type this number (or a range of numbers) in the “Solver component IDs”
property field in the result object to obtain a similar plot like in the second row below.
To limit the plot to only weld elements set the “Item Type” to “Element Name IDs” and the “Solver component
IDs” to 185. Note: you may have to hide the geometry bodies as they may also use element name 185.
- 49 -
Clear selected weld result files

When a model is solved all existing temporary weld nodal force listings are deleted (weld_n_SIdXX_FIdYY.lis,
weld_sect_n_SIdXX.lis, weld_f_SIdXX_FIdYY.lis, etc.).
To clean up the solution folder or to force a re-evaluation for a weld results without re-solving the analysis
select the result in the model tree and click the button “Clear selected weld result files”.
Note: The weld result object is not cleared, and the result summary listing and csv file are kept.
- 50 -
Weld Fatigue overview

The weld fatigue methods are based on IIW recommendations [6] to evaluate fatigue according to Nominal,
Hot-Spot, Effective Notch method. Two additional generic fatigue methods “CSV” and “Linearized stress”
fatigue method are included that can be used for user defined evaluation of e.g. structural stress fatigue of
welds or pressure vessel evaluation according to ASME.
Fatigue Method Shell Solid

CSV OK OK
Linearized N/A OK
Nominal OK OK
Hot-Spot OK OK
Effective Notch N/A OK
Load cases from single step, load case combination or load case scanning can be defined.
Mean stress correction according to Goodman, Soderberg, Gerber, ASME Elliptical and Modified Goodman can
be used in CSV, Linearized, Nominal and Hot-Spot method.
Cumulative damage from a duty cycle consisting of several load cases can be evaluated.
S-N curves from IIW, DNV GL RP-C203, and Eurocode 3 are included, and additional curves can be added.
Fatigue evaluation using a S-N curve works in the same way as Ansys fatigue tool, but the difference is that the
Ansys tool is used for the part material fatigue excluding welds.
Common fatigue properties

The common properties for all methods, (S-N curve, Load case definition, Fatigue Result and Definition) are
described in the following sections.
- 51 -
S-N curve
FAT Class: List of available S-N curves (defined in “weldFatiguePref.py”). Use “User defined” to edit S-N curve
properties manually (otherwise the properties are in read only mode).
Default S-N curve for each fatigue method can be defined in the preference file, see figure below.
FAT (@ Nfat cycles): Weld fatigue class. Stress range at Nfat cycles.
FAT factor: Scale factor for FAT value. E.g. to apply a thickness or temperature modification factor.
Nfat: Number of cycles for defining FAT (2E6).
Nc: Break point between slope m1 and m2 (1E7).
Slope m1: S-N curve slope for N < Nc.
Slope m2: S-N curve slope for N > Nc.
Load case definition

Load Type: [Zero Based/Fully Reversed/Ratio/Load Combination/Load Scanning/Solution Combination]
Default = “Fully Reversed”. See following pages for description.
Loading Ratio: Factor to define custom range. Visible for Ratio. Default = -1 (Fully Reversed)
First time: List of time steps. Visible for all but Solution Combination. Default = 1.000
Last time: List of time steps. Visible for Load Combination and Load Scanning. Default = 2.000
Load scale factor: Fatigue stress scale factor. Visible for all but Solution Combination. Default = 1.0
Solution Combination: Table editor. Visible for Solution Combination.
Cycles per block: Number of cycles used to calculate damage and safety factors. Default = 1.
Mean Stress Theory: [None/Goodman/Soderberg/Gerber/ASME Elliptical/Modified Goodman] Default = None.
Yield Limit, Ry: Material Ry, Used for static stress check for Nominal and Hot-Spot method.
Ultimate Limit, Rm: Material Rm, Visible for Goodman/Gerber/Modified Goodman
- 52 -
Load Types
Zero Based
Calculates a pulsating stress range by scaling load step
“First time” with “Load scale factor”.
Fully Reversed
Calculates an alternating stress range by scaling load step “First
time” with “Load scale factor*2”.
Ratio (Loading Ratio)
Calculates custom stress range defined by scaling load step
“First time” with “Load scale factor*(1 - Ratio)”
Load Combination
Calculates the stress range between step “First time” S
and “Last time” and scale with “Load scale factor”
(Not available for CSV Fatigue)
T1 T2
Load Scanning
Calculates the maximum stress range between step
S
“First time” and “Last time” and scale with “Load scale factor”
(Not available for CSV and Linearized Fatigue)
T1 T2
Solution Combination
A general load step combination with two or more load steps in
the same analysis.
The resulting combination defines the stress range.
1. To edit the ”Solution Combination” click on ”Tabular
Data”
2. Click the ”Add row” in the table editor
3. Define the time step (must be greater than 0)
4. Define the load step scaling coefficient (must not be 0)
5. To delete a row right-click on a cell and select “Delete
selected row(s)”
Click ”Apply” to save the data and close the table editor.
(Click ”Cancel” to close without saving).
Do not click the red ”Close window” button.
(Not available for CSV Fatigue)
- 53 -
Note: Loading Ratio vs. Stress Ratio

Load Type “Loading Ratio” defines the scaling factors, Kmin & Kmax, from the “Ratio” for the selected load case,
LC, according to the following:
Ratio = Kmin/Kmax , where Kmax = 1.
Range: Kfact*(Kmax*LC – Kmin*LC) = Kfact* (1-Ratio)*LC,
where Kfact is the “Load scaling factor”.
If the stress in a point for the selected load case is negative, e.g. S = -100, and Ratio=-0.5 the stress range is,
Srange = abs(1*-100 – -0.5*-100) = abs(-100 – 50) = 150
The stress ratio, R = Smin/Smax = -100/50 = -2!
If the stress in a point is positive, e.g. S = 100, and Ratio = -0.5,
then Srange = abs(1*100 – -0.5*100) = abs(100 + 50) = 150, R=50/100 = 0.5!
The “Loading Ratio” will equal the “Stress Ratio” only in points where the stress is positive!
Defining a load as a “Zero based” or “pulsating” load may in some areas create stresses with R=0 and in other
areas R=-inf depending on the stress sign in the load case!
The “Loading Ratio” definition follows Ansys Fatigue Module definition.
Note: Load Scanning evaluation time in Nominal Fatigue

Load scanning performs all possible load case combinations from the selected range of time steps in order to
find the true maximum principal or equivalent stress range.
The number of combinations increase fast with number of load steps, which is why this feature should be used
with care to avoid long evaluation times.
When using Normal stress, Hot-Spot or Effective Notch method the stress orientation is constant for all steps,
so the min and max stress are found direct from “Maximum/Minimum over time” and the stress range is
derived without performing load case combinations.
Possible load combinations

50
45
40
35
Combinations
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Load steps
- 54 -
Mean Stress Correction Theory

Mean stress correction, MSC, can be applied for CSV, Linearized, Nominal and Hot-Spot method.
The definition is the same as in Ansys Fatigue Module except for “Modified Goodman” (that is not available in
Ansys Fatigue Module).
If the mean stress is outside of the Yield or Ultimate limit a warning message is issued and the stress range is
assigned a large value and the life is set to 0 cycles.
Based on the mean stress, Savg, the stress range, Srange, is corrected according to the following equations:
Goodman: S’range = Srange/(1-Savg/Rm) if 0 < Savg < Rm
Soderberg: S’range = Srange/(1-Savg/Ry) if 0 < Savg < Ry
2
Gerber: S’range = Srange/(1-(Savg/Rm) ) if abs(Savg) < Rm
2
ASME Elliptical: S’range = Srange/sqrt(1-(Savg/Ry) ) if 0 < Savg < Ry
Modified Goodman: S’range0 = Srange/(1-Savg/Rm) if -Rm < Savg < Ry
if Savg > 0: S’range1 = S’range0*(0.5*Srange/(Ry-Savg), if Savg <= 0: S’range1 = S’range0*(0.5*Srange/(Rm+Savg)
S’range = max(S’range0, S’range1)
Mean Stress Correction

200
Amplitude Stress [MPa]
150
100
50
0
-400 -350 -300 -250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Mean Stress [MPa]
None Goodman Soderberg Gerber ASME Elliptical Modified Goodman
Note: The Modified Goodman uses a two step approach to first derive a corrected range using Goodman
equation and the modify the range based on average stress distance to Ry or Rm.
Fatigue Result
Available Result Items are defined as follows:
Life [N]: Number of cycles for failure at defined stress range, N(S).
log10(Life) [N]: Convenient method to plot the order of magnitude of life, log10(N(S)).
Damage per block [-]: Ratio of load block number of cycles to Life, D = Nb/N(S)
Safety factor life [#blocks]: Number of loading blocks, SFN = 1/D = N(S)/Nb
Stress range: Stress range (including mean stress correction if used), S.
Safety factor stress: Ratio of allowed stress range to stress range, SFS = S(Nb)/S
Stress utilization: 1/SFS = S/S(Nb)
Life Quality: Quality measure based on mesh size, see section on following pages.
Stress max: Maximum stress in the fatigue load case.
Stress avg: Average (mean) stress in the fatigue load case.
Stress min: Minimum stress in the fatigue load case.
First time: First of the identified time steps when using “Fatigue Scanning”.
Last time: Last of the identified time steps when using “Fatigue Scanning”.
Path pos: Path coordinate along Hot-Spot edge.
- 55 -
Definition
By: Default = “Time” (Cannot be changed)
Display Time: Time step selected from “First Time” in Load case definition (Read only).
Stress range check, Nominal and Hot-Spot Method

The IIW [6] recommendations for stress range check are implemented for Nominal and Hot-Spot Method
based on the Yield Limit (Ry) defined in the Mean Stress Theory property.
The nominal stress range should be within the limits of the elastic properties of the material.
If the following conditions are not fulfilled a warning message is issued.
Nominal stress range nom < 1.5Ry or max stress nom < Ry
Hot spot stress range HS < 2Ry or max stress HS < Ry
Use the results “Stress range” and “Stress max/min” to review the condition.
- 56 -
CSV Fatigue
The CSV Fatigue Method is a generic post processing method to evaluate the life result items based on nodal
or element stress values in a CSV text file (comma separated values). A weld strength result may be used to
post process the fatigue in a weld using the structural stress result.
The first column in the csv file must contain node or element numbers.
At least one column must contain stress results.
The first line must contain data headers with valid Workbench unit strings, e.g. [MPa] or (Pa). Both types of
brackets may be used around the stress unit.
The field separator may be “;” or “,”. If the separator “;” is used decimal comma “,” or decimal point “.” may
be used. If the separator “,” is used only decimal point “.” can be used.
CSV Geometry
Scoping Method: [All Bodies/Geometry Selection/Named Selection]
Geometry: Selection corresponding to the content in the CSV file. If the file contains edge results the scoping
must be “edges” otherwise the contour plot is blank. You may limit the plot by selecting fewer geometry
items.
CSV Method
CSV File: Open file dialog for external CSV text file.
CSV Stress: List box of available stress results. The header must include a valid stress unit sting
Result Location: [Node/Element]. If the CSV file contains node or element results.
Notes on CSV Stress: The selected stress is scaled based on the “Load Type” and the “Load scale factor”.
E.g. If using a CSV Stress that is a “Stress range” you need to apply a scaling factor of 0.5 if using Load Type
“Fully Reversed”.
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Linearized Stress Fatigue

The linearized stress fatigue method is a generic method to evaluate the fatigue based on linearized stress
though the thickness of a part, e.g. along a weld toe from inside to outside. Compared to the native linearized
stress feature in Mechanical that uses a predefined path in “Construction geometry” the app defines the
needed paths and linearization in the background using MAPDL.
Inside
Scoping Method: [Geometry Selection/Named Selection]
Geometry: Edges, Faces or Nodes of solids on the “Inside”. Results are plotted on this geometry.
By using a subset of the face nodes the evaluation time is greatly reduced. Avoid large face selections.
Outside
Geometry: Edges, Faces or Nodes on the “Outside”. For each “Inside” node a path is created to the closest
“Outside” node and the linearized stress is evaluated.
Linearized Method
Linearized Parent: [None/*] Select an existing parent result to evaluate a different stress type, item or result.
Stress Type: Linearized Stress of type [Absolute Principal/Maximum Principal/Middle Principal /Minimum
Principal/Stress Intensity/Equivalent/Sum of Principal/Normal X/Normal Y/Normal Z/Shear XY/Shear YZ/Shear
XZ]
Coordinate System: [List of Coordinate Systems] Visible for Normal & Shear Stress (Must be Cartesian with
“Manual” ID number and created before solving)
Stress Item: [Membrane/Bending/Membrane+Bending/Peak/Total]
Result Side: Selects the result location to display [Inside/Center/Outside].
Corner Nodes Only: [Yes,No] To speed up evaluation corner nodes are used by default.
Pinball Region: Search distance limit when creating a path between inside and outside geometry. “0” will
connect all nodes on the “Inside” geometry with the nearest node on the “Outside” geometry. When the
result is evaluated, the path is plotted as a green arrow. The arrows can be shown/hidden for a selected result
by toggle the tag “AlwaysPlotLinearized”.
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Note: “Absolute Principal” is “max(abs(S1), abs(S2), abs(S3))”, “Sum of Principal” is “abs(S1+S2+S3)”.

Note: You may use “Linearized Parent” to quickly display a different stress or results item or use a different S-N
curve or FAT-factor. No evaluation time needed since the linearized stress files are re-used.
A child result may be used to display a different result item.
Note: The output from the path evaluation is saved in a text file for each result object in the solution sub
folder “Weld Fatigue”.
Fatigue Result
Once the result is evaluated a path object can be created automatically based on the maximum result using
the “Create Path” property. If the result is updated and the max location is changed the path can be updated.
This path can be used for additional post processing using the native linearized stress results.
Linearized Stress Result

The stress result details from the linearized stress at the max location is printed as output parameters. The
values may differ slightly compared to what Mechanical is displaying and the reason is that the app uses all
available nodes and elements in the linearization evaluation in MAPDL whereas Mechanical only uses one
body close to the path.
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Nominal Fatigue
The nominal fatigue method is similar to Ansys Fatigue Tool and can be used to calculate the fatigue on the
surface of a part using a selected stress type and S-N curve.
Base Material Face

Geometry: Edges, Faces or Nodes of shells or solids. (Evaluation is limited to the surface of the part)
Shell face: [Top/Middle/Bottom] Used only for shell bodies.
Nominal Method
Stress Type: [Principal/Sum of Principal/Equivalent/Normal X/Normal Y/Normal Z], Default = Principal
Coordinate System: [List of Coordinate Systems] Visible for Normal Stress (Must be Cartesian). The selected
stress direction is plotted with a vector.
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Note:
“Principal” is the principal stress with the largest magnitude, S = max(abs(S1), abs(S2), abs(S3)).
“Sum of Principal” calculates the first stress invariant, S = S1+S2+S3.
“Equivalent” is the signed von-Mises Equivalent stress. (Sign from the largest principal stress).
When using Nominal Fatigue for weld fatigue evaluation according to the “Nominal Stress Method” it is the
user’s responsibility to read the geometric stress and life at correct location with respect to the selected weld
detail, e.g. using the “Normal X” and a local coordinate system.
With the nodal selection (in combination with Normal stress) the user can directly probe the life for a weld
joint from a single node without confusing the plot with irrelevant results.
FAT = 50 MPa (Table 3.1, No 721 [6])

Life N = 2e6*(50/102)3 = 2.35e5
It is important not to read the stress at the weld location (to exclude the influence of the weld itself) and also
find correct FAT value. (Structural Details Table 3.1 [6]). It is recommended to use Hot-Spot and/or Effective
Notch method for weld evaluation.
The method does not calculate a nominal stress based on the section forces and cross section area! The Hot-
spot method can be used to derive the nominal geometric stress used for nominal fatigue evaluation of welds,
see the next section for an example.
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Geometric stress extrapolation

Sometimes it is hard to find the value of the geometrical stress at the weld without the influence of the weld
itself. The Hot-spot method may be used to extrapolate the geometrical stress at the weld using two points far
from the weld. Read more about the Hot-Spot method in the corresponding section.
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Hot-Spot Fatigue
The Hot-Spot method calculates the maximum stress range at the weld hot-spot (weld toe) by extrapolation of
the normal stress perpendicular to the hot-spot edge (or the principal stress).
The linear and quadratic method can be used and the extrapolation points, a, b & c, can be edited based on
weld code and model thickness, t.
Different weld types and corresponding FAT values are found in Table 3.3 [6].
Principal stress
 <60 deg
Normal stress
Hot Spot Section

Geometry: Edges along the weld toe, i.e. the “hot-spot”, (Red line).
Reference Face
Geometry: Faces connected to the hot-spot edges. The hot-spot stress is calculated from node results on this
face. Only one unique face for each Hot-Spot edge is allowed. If only one Hot-Spot edge is selected all
reference faces are used for stress calculation. Additional “unconnected” faces can be selected.
Reference location: [Top/Middle/Bottom/Top Unconnected Face/Bottom Unconnected Face/Weld Toe
Connected Face/Weld Toe Unconnected Face]. This property has new features. For a shell model
“Top/Middle/Bottom” indicate the face side. “Unconnected Face” allows for post processing on a “target”
face. “Weld Toe” allows to post process “Add fillet weld” and will calculate the edge offset using the “Offset”
property as “throat thickness”. See section “Extrapolation graphics” for examples.
Hot Spot Method

Stress Type: [Normal/Principal] Stress type to use. Default = Normal. If the angle, , between the principal
stress and extrapolation normal is greater than 60 degrees, the normal stress is automatically used, see [6].
Extrapolation: [Linear/Quadratic] Extrapolation method. Default = Linear
Material thickness: Thickness, t, used to calculate the hot-spot extrapolation points, X. For shell models the
thickness is extracted from the reference face. Default t = 0.0 mm. Must not be zero! Use a negative thickness
to flip extrapolation direction in case the face continues on both sides of the edge, i.e. an “internal edge”.
a: First extrapolation point coefficient. Xa = a*t. Default a = 0.4 (Yellow line)
b: Second extrapolation point coefficient. Xb = b*t. Default b = 1.0 (If “Quadratic” b = 0.9, Green line)
c: Third extrapolation point coefficient. Xc = c*t. Default c = 1.4 (Used only for “Quadratic”, Blue line)
Offset: Hot-spot edge offset on reference face normal to edge tangent. Default = 0.0 mm. If “Reference
location” is “Add weld” Offset defines the throat thickness, see section “Extrapolation graphics”.
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Extrapolation graphics
Before the result is evaluated the extrapolation lines are shown to verify that they fall within the reference
face and that the mesh is well defined. At least one unique node for each extrapolation line is needed.
The extrapolation lines may be projected to the surface if the variable “projectHotSpotLines=True” is set in the
preference file. This setting will not influence the result quality.
To always show the Hot-Spot extrapolation lines use the tag “AlwaysPlotHotSpot” on the result.
The default setting for “AlwaysPlotHotSpot” is defined in the preference file.
There is a debug option in the preference file that will plot the hot-spot nodes and extrapolation lines when
evaluating a weld result. The line indicates the extrapolation normal and stress direction. If the geometry is
curved the direction is projected onto the surface. When changing between evaluated results the nodes and
lines will not be visible anymore.
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The new “Weld” feature in meshing in 2021 R1 allows to connect shell models with weld elements.
To post process on the “target face” include the face in the “Reference Face” scoping.
The direction of the hot-spot extrapolation lines and offset can be swapped by using a negative thickness and
negative offset, see section “Extrapolation direction”.
Reference location: Top Reference location: Bottom Unconnected Face

Offset: 0 mm Offset: -2.5 mm
The red arrow indicate face normal
The “Unconnected Face” can also be used on solid models connected with contacts or “Add Fillet Welds”.
Reference location: Top Reference location: Top Unconnected Face

Offset: 4.24 mm Offset: 4.24 mm
- 65 -
When welds are created using “Add Fillet Welds” the “Weld Toe” option will calculate the local edge offset
based on the throat thickness. The weld geometry is plotted with a green wire frame.
Reference location: Weld Toe Connected Face Reference location: Weld Toe Unconnected Face
Offset: 3 mm Offset: 3 mm
“Fillet Welds” mesh Reference location: Weld Toe Connected Face

Throat thickness: 3 mm Offset: 3 mm
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Extrapolation direction
For models with T-junctions or internal edges the extrapolation direction can be switched by using a negative
thickness.
Debugging – Graphics error

If the lines that shows the extrapolation locations are not displayed at the expected location the surface
geometry quality may be poor.
Solution: Try to simplify the geometry in Space Claim, e.g. replace a face with a new planar or cylindrical face.
If the lines are “translated” or “scaled” the saved geometry information has been corrupted.
Solution: Open Space Claim and “cut and paste everything” (CTRL+A, CTRL+X, CTRL+V) and then close Space
Claim. This trick forces a geometry update that usually will resolve any graphical issues.
If the reference face is un-meshed the extrapolation lines may be shown at random side of the Hot-Spot edge.
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Mesh requirements
The mesh must be fine enough to allow one or two elements between the hot-spot and the first extrapolation
point as well as between the two (or three) extrapolation points.
The app will use a polynomial interpolation to calculate the stress at the extrapolation points, hence the mesh
does not need to be a perfect mapped mesh with nodes at the extrapolation lines.
If the mesh quality is not good enough no fatigue result is displayed.
Weld Mesh method

The new weld mesh method (Ansys 2021 R1) can be used to generate a weld connection and create an imprint
suitable for hot-spot method. See the demo model “Nominal & Hot-Spot Method (Shell)” in “WeldToolkit-
FatigueDemos_V212.1.wbpz”. For more info see the Ansys documentation “Meshing User’s Guide>Local Mesh
Controls>Mesh”.
- 68 -
Extrapolation comparison
In [6] recommendations are made for mesh size, L, and extrapolation options for type A and B geometry.
In addition to the model mesh size 10 mm and 4 mm a model with mesh size 2 mm, “Extra Fine”, is included in
the comparison.
For Type A the three models give the exact same Hot-Spot stress.
For Type B the coarse model gives slightly lower stress (un-conservative).
Type A, Fine (a) Type A, Coarse (b)

a=0.4t, b=1.0t a=0.5t, b=1.5t
L= 4mm, t=10mm L= 10mm, t=10mm
Extrapolation comparison
800
700
600
500
Stress [MPa]
400
300
Type B, Fine (c) Type B, Coarse (d) 200
a=4mm, b=8mm, c=12mm a=5mm, b=15mm 100
L= 4mm L= 10mm 0
Type A Type B
Fine Coarse Extra Fine
Life Quality
The result “Life quality” is an empirical factor of the ratio between the calculated life and the “true life”.
The quality is based on the distance, d, between the closest node to each extrapolation point.
Optimal quality is 1.0. If the same node is found for all extrapolation points the quality is set to 0.0.
Quality = 1 - (da/Xa)2 - (db/(Xb-Xa))2 - (dc/(Xc-Xb))2 (Linear extrapolation uses a and b only)
Xa
Xb
Xc da
db
dc
The singularity at the Hot-Spot influences the stress at the first extrapolation point. A coarse mesh will usually
result in a higher Hot-Spot stress and lower predicted life whereas a fine mesh allows the singularity stress to
be eliminated before the first extrapolation point resulting in higher predicted life.
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Stress vs. Element size L

800
SX L=1mm
750 SX L=2mm
SX L=3mm
700
SX L=4mm
Stress [MPa]
SX L=5mm
650
600
550
500
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
X [mm]
A parameter study of the element size, life and quality for a short segment of a tetrahedron mesh shows the
following two graphs for linear and quadratic extrapolation.
Life quality (Linear extrapolation) Life quality (Quadratic extrapolation)

110% 110%
105% 105%
100% 100%
95% 95%
Life min rel. Life min rel.
90% 90%
Life trend Life trend
85% Quality min 85% Quality min
80% Quality max 80% Quality max
75% 75%
70% 70%
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Element size [mm] Element size [mm]
Thickness, t=10 mm, a=0.4, b=1.0 Thickness, t=10 mm, a=0.4, b=0.9, c=1.4
For increasing element size the variation of life and quality increases but the trend is that the result “Life
quality” follows the calculated life. For thickness 10 mm the recommended element size is 2 mm in order to
have two elements before the first extrapolation point.
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Effective Notch Fatigue

The effective notch fatigue method is usually used in a sub-model where the actual weld geometry is defined
together with the notch radii. At the weld toe the notch radius can be added by a fillet feature. At the weld
root the notch radius can be added by a Boolean cut operation. Make sure to include a gap between the plate
parts and place the notch cut so it does not reduce the effective throat thickness, see dashed lines in the figure
below.
Gap
Tangential direction
The notch result calculates the tangential stress range in the effective notch (cylindrical fillet).
Fillet radius R = 1 mm is valid for thickness ≥ 5 mm [6]. For thinner parts R = 0.05 mm may be used but other
recommendations may exist. The app will not check the notch radius or part thickness. The FAT class depends
on material and notch radius and common values (implemented in the app) are found in the table below [6].
Material R = 1 mm R = 0.05 mm
Steel FAT 225 FAT 630
Aluminium alloys FAT 71 FAT 180
Magnesium FAT 28 FAT 71

The mesh must be fine enough to allow at least four second order elements for a 90-degree segment, e.g.
element length 0.4 mm. Use inflation layers or sphere/body of influence to get good element quality.
Note: You may use the Nominal Fatigue method to obtain the maximum principal stress range if the fillet is not
a perfect cylinder, e.g. a torus, or if you do not want to use the tangential stress.
Effective Notch Face

Geometry: Cylindrical notch faces of solid bodies. (No torus or spline face allowed)
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Life Quality
The expected life is highly sensitive to the stress range. A stress convergence study shows that 2nd order brick
elements require 24 elements/360 degree, and first order elements require 40 elements/360 degree.
The result “Life quality” is the ratio between the calculated life and the “true” life as a function of normal angle
difference, phi, over the element. A coarse mesh over predicts the life so dividing the calculated life with the
quality is a rough estimate of the “true” life.
Second order tetrahedron elements tends to give higher stress compared to brick elements for the same mesh
resolution and are therefore conservative. First order tetrahedron elements must never be used.
Using inflation layers on a tetrahedron mesh improves the result and is recommended practice.
Note: The Nominal method uses the same definition for “Life quality” for solid models.
Relative Life Brick Life quality

600% 400%
Brick 2nd Q rooth
Brick 2nd order
Brick 2nd Q toe 350%
500%
Brick 1st Q rooth
Brick 1st order
Brick 1st Q toe 300%
400%
250%
300% 200%
150%
200%
100%
100%
50%
0% 0%
8 16 24 32 40 0 10 20 30 40
#elements/360 degrees Phi [deg]
- 72 -
Comparison of fatigue methods

The four fatigue methods show similar result where Nominal and Hot-Spot method has identical life, Effective
Notch method has 3% higher life and linearized has 24% lower life compared to the Nominal method
respectively.
For a shell model (1st order) the Hot-Spot method life is 25% lower compared to Nominal.
In this test the new “Weld” mesh method is used to create the weld mesh including the mesh imprint for Hot-
Spot extrapolation, see the paragraph “Weld Mesh method” in the Hot-Spot section.
The Hot-Spot result is very sensitive to the mesh method, size and quality at the hot spot, e.g. solid vs. shell,
contact vs. multi-body, with or without weld elements. In this example the Hot-Spot life could differ as much
as 50% compared to the Nominal life.
Nominal Hot-Spot
Effective Notch Linearized
Life Comparison
2.50E+05
2.00E+05
Life [Cycles]
1.50E+05 Solid 2nd

Shell 1st
1.00E+05
5.00E+04
0.00E+00
Nominal Hot-Spot Effectiv Notch Linearized
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Child Fatigue
A child result let you plot different Result Items from a parent fatigue object without the need for re-
evaluation, e.g. for Hot-Spot or Linearized method.
The scoping of the child is automatically set when selection the parent in the list.
The child does not create any output csv since it uses the parent csv file.
If the parent object is cleared the child is also automatically cleared.
When evaluating all results the child results are evaluated after the parents to make sure the updated parent
result file is used.
Parent Child
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Cumulative Damage
A fatigue duty cycle built of different loading blocks can be evaluated using the Cumulative Damage method.
Grouping result objects of the same type with the same geometry scoping and FAT Class but different load
cases together with a “Cumulative Damage” object will sum the damage from the grouped objects and
calculate the total damage and safety factor results. You may drag and drop result objects into or out from the
group to edit the duty cycle.
Do not group different result items of the same load case, e.g. Life, Damage and Stress range, since this will
sum the damage for each one, use a “Child Result” to plot those result instead! You may have several
“Cumulative results” and “Child Results” in the same group.
Geometry
Geometry: Edges or Faces from grouped result objects.
Load Group Properties

Load Group Properties: [Apply/Cancel] Click to load Geometry, Load case and S-N Curve from grouped objects.
Total #Cycles: Total number of cycles, Ncum, from grouped objects (Read Only).
S-N curve
FAT Class: Fatigue S-N curve. (Read Only)
FAT: Weld fatigue class stress. (Read Only)
FAT factor: Scale factor for FAT value (Read Only)
Nfat: Number of cycles for defining FAT (Read Only)
Nc: Break point between slope m1 and m2. (Read Only)
Slope m1: S-N curve slope for N < Nc. (Read Only)
Slope m2: S-N curve slope for N > Nc. (Read Only)
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Fatigue Result
Available Result Items are defined as follows:
Cumulative Damage [-]: Sum of the damage from each load block, Dcum.
Safety factor life [#blocks]: Number of loading blocks, SFN = 1/Dcum = N(Seqv)/Ncum
Equivalent Stress range: Constant stress range with same total damage as the duty cycle, Seqv
Safety factor stress: Ratio of allowed stress range to equivalent stress range, SFS = S(Ncum)/Seqv
Stress utilization: 1/SFS = Seqv/S(Ncum)
Life Quality: Quality measure based on mesh size.
Definition
By: Default = “Time”
Display Time: Time step to use for deformed shape. Does not influence result.
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Weld Fatigue Result listing

In the solution sub folder “Weld Fatigue”, a result summary csv text file for each result object is created with
the same name as the result object (and an Id number). See example below.
The text file can be used in e.g. Excel and also with the free app “CSV-Plot”.
Node Id: Node numbers from result object

Life: Number of cycles, N, until damage = 1.0 for calculated stress range, S. Cut off limit N = 1010
log10(Life): Log10(Life)
Damage per block: Damage for calculated stress range, S, repeated Nb times (Nb: cycles per block). Nb/N(S)
Safety factor life: Number of blocks to get damage = 1.0. N(S)/Nb
Stress range : Calculated (mean stress corrected) stress range, DS, at node Id
Safety factor stress: Factor to scale stress range, DS, to get damage = 1.0 for one block of cycles. DS(Nb)/DS. Cut off limit 100
Stress utilization:
Life quality: Relative Life based on mesh curvature (Nominal, Effective Notch). 1.0 optimal quality
Relative measure of node distance from Hot-Spot extrapolation point. 1.0 exact node locations
Stress max: Maximum stress from load case
Stress avg: Mean (average) stress from load case, used for mean stress correction theory
Stress min: Minimum stress from load case
First time: First and last load step used in stress range calculation. For Load Scanning this can be different than the ”First time” and
Last time: ”Last time” in Load case definition. See the figure in the table ”Load Case Definition”.
Geo Id: Face or edge Id number. Sort table on” Geo Id” and “Path pos” to do graphs in Excel.
Path pos: Hot-Spot path position.
X: Node X coordinate in global system
Y: Node Y coordinate in global system
Z: Node Z coordinate in global system
Note: The csv file name will not change if the result is renamed. Clear and evaluate to re create the csv file
Validity of the fatigue results

The nominal stress range should be within the limits of the elastic properties of the material.
The IIW recommendations are not applicable to: [6]
1. low cycle fatigue (strain based fatigue) where

nominal stress range nom > 1.5Ry or max stress nom > Ry
hot-spot stress range HS > 2Ry or max stress HS > Ry
2. corrosive conditions.
3. elevated temperature operation in the creep range.
Use the results “Stress range” and “Stress max/min” to verify that condition one is fulfilled. Also verify the
fatigue resistance of the parent material.
Note: All IIW or DNV GL S-N curves are limited by the parent material (FAT160 & B1)
It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that the FE-model, chosen fatigue method, input values and results
obtained by this application is suitable for his/her intended purpose, e.g. to evaluate according to a specific
design code or to apply fatigue modification factors due to misalignment etc.
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Weld Report
A HTML formatted report of all weld objects and results including any comments, figures and images is created
with a click on “Weld Report”. The style settings are defined in the “Weld Report Preference”, see next
section.
The image export settings are defined in the standard Mechanical Options under “Graphics” and “Report”.
The property “Current Graphics Display” is ignored and images are always exported with the settings defined.
- 78 -
Add text to your weld objects by using “Comment” and add “Figures” or static “Images” using the
corresponding feature in the “Insert” menu. Comment and Figure objects added to the “Analysis” will be
included in the beginning of the report.
Result objects can be grouped to create a heading in the report. Comment and figure objects in the group will
be printed before the results in the group.
The report is saved in the project “user_files” folder in a subfolder with the same name as the parent folder for
the solver files directory, e.g. “SYS” or “SYS-1”.
The report can be imported to Microsoft Word (Insert>Text from File…).

Make sure to select “Save pictures in document” (File>Info>Edit Links to Files)
See the demo or verification project for examples on how to use comments, figures and images.
The EDRMedeso app “Report Generator” can also be used to include bolt objects details and results.
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Open Preference
Click one of the preference buttons to edit the corresponding settings. The preference files are located in the
app installation folder (%appdata%\Ansys\v212\ACT\extensions\WeldToolkit_V212.1).
The changes are applied next time you open Workbench or click “New Project”.
Weld Strength Preference

General preferences
A few general parameters may be edited by the user in the preference file to control the “Add Fillet Weld”
creation and “Weld Strength result” sizing of welds. The result export to txt and csv file can also be controlled.
The default value for “Calculate Time History” has changed to “No”. This can be controlled by the new
parameter “calculateTimeHistory”.
When welds are post processed the MAPDL solver is used and a custom license increment can be used instead
of the default one, “postLicenseMAPDL”.
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Custom weld Codes

Weld Strength has an API (Application Programming Interface) that allows the creation of additional weld
codes by the user. The existing code “Eurocode 3” is included and can be used as an example for additional
codes.
The weld codes are defined using a Python dictionary where the user can add key words and expressions to
define the material parameters, dimensional weld strength and weld stress used in the evaluation. The
expressions must be valid Python syntax, see steps 1 to 6 below.
1. A new Weld code is defined by adding the line:

weldCodes.Add(‘Eurocode 3’),{}) (line 49)
This name is displayed in the Weld code list box for Fillet or Butt weld.
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2. The floating average length factor must be defined by the line:

weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add('floatingFact',6.0) (line 51)
3. The material grade, strength and parameters, w and M2 are defined by the lines (optional):
weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add(material,{}) (line 53)
weldCodes['Eurocode 3'][ material].Add('S235',{'Fu':'360 [MPa]','betaw':0.80,'gammaM2':1.25})
weldCodes['Eurocode 3'][ material].Add('S275',{'Fu':'410 [MPa]','betaw':0.85,'gammaM2':1.25})
4. The sections to evaluate, Eurocode 3 uses only the throat section “0.5” (optional).
weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add('evalSect',[0.5]) (line60)
5. The dimensional strength is defined by adding lines for any of FuSeqv, FuSn, FuTp, FuTn, FuSb, FuSs:
weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add('FuSeqv','Fu/(betaw*gammaM2)') (line 52)
weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add('FuSn','0.9*Fu/gammaM2')
#weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add('FuTp','0.6*Fu/gammaM2')
#weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add('FuTn','0.6*Fu/gammaM2')
#weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add('FuSb','0.9*Fu/gammaM2')
#weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add('FuSs','0.9*Fu/gammaM2')
Note: Eurocode 3 uses only FuSeqv and FuSn, hence the “#” to blank the definition of FuTp, FuTn.
fu 0.9  f u
FuSeqv = f uEqv = and FuSn = f u ⊥ =
w  M 2 M2
FuSeqv can also use the weld force angle “phi” as an input parameter (AWS Fillet).
The weld strength is used together with the corresponding weld stress for calculation of the weld
utilization factor, e.g. Wuf = “weldSeqv/FuSeqv”. The maximum of all defined Wuf is saved.
The expression must include Weld strength, Fu, and optionally Beta w, betaw, and Safety factor M2,
gammaM2.
6. If FuSeqv is defined a corresponding expression for weld stress, weldSeqv, must be defined.
The expression can include any of Sn, Tn, Tp, Sb and Ss.
The weld stress items are available as a Result Item: Seqv, Snormal, Tparallel, Tnormal, Sbending,
Sstruct.
weldCodes['Eurocode 3'].Add('weldSeqv','(Sn**2 + 3*(Tn**2 + Tp**2))**0.5') (line 69)
𝜎𝐸𝑞𝑣 = √𝜎⊥2 + 3 × (𝜏⊥2 + 𝜏∥2 )
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Weld Fatigue Preference

Default properties for the fatigue methods such as S-N Curve and load case defined here. These properties are
used when adding a new result to the model tree.
This can be used to define default settings for a specific design code.
Custom S-N curves can be added to the app using the new API found below “# FAT Class Dictionary”.
Curves for IIW, DNV and EC3 are included and shown in the following pages [6], [7], [3].
One additional feature when defining a S-N curve in the preference file is the possibility to include a second
break point, N0, and a corresponding slope, m0 and a cutoff limit Ncutoff. This is used for IIW and DNV to “limit”
a curve with the base material curve.
- 83 -
IIW S-N curves – Nominal & Hot-Spot Method (Steel)

Fatigue resistance S-N curves for steel, normal stress, very high cycles application, (Fig 3.2) [6]
IIW S-N curves Nominal & Hot-Spot Method (Steel)

1000
FAT160 steel
FAT125 steel
FAT112 steel
FAT100 steel
FAT90 steel
Stress range [MPa]
FAT80 steel
100 FAT71 steel
FAT63 steel
FAT56 steel
FAT50 steel
FAT45 steel
FAT40 steel
FAT36 steel
10
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08 1.0E+09
#Cycles
Modified resistance S-N curves of steel for Palmgren-Miner summation, (Fig 4.1) [6]
IIW S-N curves Nominal & Hot-Spot Method (Steel) Variable amp.
1000
FAT160 steel vari
FAT125 steel vari
FAT112 steel vari
FAT100 steel vari
FAT90 steel vari

Stress range [MPa]
FAT80 steel vari
100 FAT71 steel vari
FAT63 steel vari
FAT56 steel vari
FAT50 steel vari
FAT45 steel vari
FAT40 steel vari
FAT36 steel vari

10
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08 1.0E+09
#Cycles
Note: In the preference file there are also S-N curves defined for “Standard application” Fig. 3.1.
These curves are deactivated by default but can be activated by the user by editing the preference file.
IIW does not specify a cutoff limit, Ncutoff = 1e10 cycles is used.
- 84 -
IIW S-N curves – Nominal & Hot-Spot Method (Alu.)

Fatigue resistance S-N curves for aluminium, normal stress, (Fig 3.3) [6]
IIW S-N curves Nominal & Hot-Spot Method (Aluminium)

500
FAT71 aluminium
FAT50 aluminium
FAT45 aluminium
FAT40 aluminium
FAT36 aluminium
Stress range [MPa]
FAT32 aluminium
50 FAT28 aluminium
FAT25 aluminium
FAT22 aluminium
FAT18 aluminium
FAT16 aluminium
FAT14 aluminium
FAT12 aluminium
5
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08 1.0E+09
#Cycles
Modified resistance S-N curves of aluminium for Palmgren-Miner summation, (Fig 4.2) [6]
IIW S-N curves Nominal & Hot-Spot Method (Alu.) Variable ampl.
500
FAT71 alu vari
FAT50 alu vari
FAT45 alu vari
FAT40 alu vari
FAT36 alu vari

Stress range [MPa]
FAT32 alu vari
50 FAT28 alu vari
FAT25 alu vari
FAT22 alu vari
FAT18 alu vari
FAT16 alu vari
FAT14 alu vari
FAT12 alu vari

5
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08 1.0E+09
#Cycles
Note: Curves for aluminum are limited by FAT71 (parent material) whereas curves for steel are limited by
FAT160.
- 85 -
IIW S-N curves – Effective Notch

Fatigue resistance S-N curves [6]
IIW S-N curves Effective Notch Method, Constant & Variable Ampl.
1000
FAT225 R1 steel
FAT71 R1 aluminium
FAT28 R1 magnesium
FAT630 R0.05 steel
FAT180 R0.05 aluminium
Stress range [MPa]
FAT71 R0.05 magnesium

FAT225 R1 steel vari
100 FAT71 R1 alu vari
FAT28 R1 magn vari
FAT630 R0.05 steel vari
FAT180 R0.05 alu vari
FAT71 R0.05 magn vari
10
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08 1.0E+09
#Cycles
DNV S-N curves

DNV does not specify a cutoff limit, Ncutoff = 1e10 cycles is used.
DNV Table 2-1 S-N curves in air [7]
DNV Table 2-1 S-N curves in air

1000 B1
B2
C
C1
C2
Stress range [MPa]
D
E
100
F
F1
F3
G
W1
W2
W3
10
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08 T
#Cycles Steel
- 86 -
DNV Table 2-2 S-N curves in seawater (cathodic) [7]
DNV Table 2-2 S-N curves in seawater with cathodic protection

1000
B1
B2
C
C1
C2
Strress range [MPa]
D
E
100 F
F1
F3
G
W1
W2
W3
10 T
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08
#Cycles
DNV Table 2-3 S-N curves in seawater for free corrosion [7]
DNV Table 2-3 S-N curves in seawater for free corrosion

1000
B1
B2
C
C1
C2
Stress range [MPa]
D
E
100 F
F1
F3
G
W1
W2
W3
10 T
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08
#Cycles
- 87 -
Eurocode 3 S-N Curves

Figure 7.1: Fatigue strength curves for direct stress ranges, Constant amplitude [3]
Eurocde 3 S-N curves Constant ampl.

1000
FAT160
FAT140
FAT125
FAT112
FAT100
Stress range [MPa]
FAT90
FAT80
100
FAT71
FAT63
FAT56
FAT50
FAT45
FAT40
FAT36
10
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08 1.0E+09
#Cycles
Note: Slope m2 = 1e6 is used from knee point at Nc = 5e5 up to N=1e8. Ncutoff = 1e8 cycles is used.
Figure 7.1: Fatigue strength curves for direct stress ranges, Variable amplitude [3]
Eurocde 3 S-N curves Variable ampl.

1000
FAT160 vari
FAT140 vari
FAT125 vari
FAT112 vari
FAT100 vari
Stress range [MPa]
FAT90 vari
FAT80 vari
100
FAT71 vari
FAT63 vari
FAT56 vari
FAT50 vari
FAT45 vari
FAT40 vari
FAT36 vari
10
1.0E+04 1.0E+05 1.0E+06 1.0E+07 1.0E+08 1.0E+09
#Cycles
Ncutoff = 1e8 cycles is used.
- 88 -
Weld Report Preference

The weld report feature shares the same type of preference settings as the “Report Generator” app.
The style settings for text paragraph, headings, captions and tables are defined using html5 syntax.
- 89 -
Licensing Features
Projects using the EDRMedeso license feature has several benefits compared to the Ansys app license.
• You may open a Workbench project without the app license being checked out.
• You may also open Mechanical without the app license being checked out.
(This allows the model to be shared with people without access to the app or license.
Just make sure to “Save Binary Extension with Project”, see “WB>Tools>Options…>Extensions” below.)
• You may activate the app license to reserve it for your continuous use. “Check Out License”
• You may release the app license from the current Mechanical session to use it in another session
within the same project or a different project or by a different user. “Check In License”
• You may check the status of available licenses and who is using the license. “Check License Status”
• The app license is automatically checked out when evaluating a feature during solve or post
processing.
• If the license is not available a warning message is displayed in Mechanical.
If the connection to the license client is lost use “Initiate Licensing” to reconnect or to locate the license client
and update the license user variable. See the “EDRMedeso_License_client_installation.pdf” for details.
- 90 -
Known Issues/limitations
• Very long project path names or regional characters may cause the evaluation to fail.
Common practice is to use only alphanumerical letters and underscore in project name and file path.
In general projects may be saved using both “drive letter path” or “network path” and spaces and
regional characters are allowed in both project name and result object names. Invalid characters, e.g.
“*”, “?”, “\”, are removed from result object name when saving result csv files.
• The “First time” and “Last time” are used to find the nearest result step from the solution. If an exact
match is not found a warning message is printed.
• Linearized Stress result may fail to evaluate if node numbers are extremely large, >108. Add a “Mesh
Numbering” to compress the node numbers. This can happen after multiple partial updates of the
geometry and not clearing the mesh.
• Cumulative damage result will not change status to “Need update” if another group member is edited
and updated. You must manual click on the “Load Group Properties” field to load any changes in the
Cumulative Damage result and evaluate the result again.
• Evaluation of many weld result objects on large models is time consuming and may cause Mechanical
to crash. Always save the model before solving! To recover if Mechanical crashes after solving:
1. Open Mechanical and suppress all the weld result objects.
2. Right click on Solution group and “Open Solver Files Directory” and locate “file.rst”.
(If not found re-solve the model.)
3. Use “Solution>Tools>Read Result Files…” and select “file.rst” from step 2 and save the model again.
4. Un-suppress the weld result objects and evaluate.
References
[1] ANSYS Help 2021R2 online documentation.
[2] EN 1993-1-8 (2005) (English): Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-8: Design of joints
[Authority: The European Union Per Regulation 305/2011, Directive 98/34/EC, Directive 2004/18/EC]
[3] EN 1993-1-9 (2005) Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-9: Fatigue
[Authority: The European Union Per Regulation 305/2011, Directive 98/34/EC, Directive 2004/18/EC]
[4] EN 1993-1-10 (2005) (English): Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-10: Material toughness
and through-thickness properties [Authority: The European Union Per Regulation 305/2011, Directive
98/34/EC, Directive 2004/18/EC]
[5] ANSI/AISC 360-16 Specification for Structural Steel Builds. July 7, 2016
[6] Recommendations for Fatigue Design of Welded Joints and Components, Second Edition. A.F.
Hobbacher. International Institute of Welding (IIW)
[7] DNV-RP-C203 Fatigue Design of Offshore Steel Structures. DNVGL-RP-0005:2014-06
- 91 -

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Weld Toolkit

Extension version 212.1

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Weld Toolkit Help

News in version V212.1

Migration from Weld Strength or Weld Fatigue

Save Weld Configuration

Table 1. Sample Weld Strength configuration file ”WeldStrength.json”

Import Weld Configuration

Configuration File Syntax

Optimize Bonded Contacts

The app will only work on bonded contacts.

Create Weld Contacts

(*) Recommended contact settings:

Weld Contacts Match

Add Fillet Welds

Weld Section Edge

(*) weldElementGapRatio, weldElementMinAngle and weldElementMaxAngle are defined in the preference

Angle > 120 deg

Angle < 60 deg

plotWeldNodecsys = True # Plot weld node coordinate system on evaluation

Weld Mesh Geometry

Intermittent weld parameters

Weld Spacing Weld Length

Visualization of weld mesh, weld stress and contact results

Weld Geometry Export

Export Weld Material

Add Butt Welds

Curved and cylindrical geometry is also supported.

Fillet and Butt Weld Strength

Before evaluation After evaluation

Notes on weld offset:

-FZM FZM = MY/dM

Notes on weld side:

Weld Side: Bottom Weld Side: Top

Notes on weld parts:

Type: Butt Weld

Notes on cruciform joints:

Notes on output control:

Groove welds, Complete Joint Penetration

Shear: 𝜏 = 𝜎𝐸𝑞𝑣 = √𝜏⊥2 + 𝜏∥2 ≤ 𝐹𝑛𝐵𝑀 = 0.577𝐹𝑢

𝜎𝐸𝑞𝑣 = √𝜎⊥2 + 𝜏⊥2 + 𝜏∥2 ≤ 𝐹𝑛𝑤

A & B: Mplast = 0.5*F*a = 0.5*(0.5**a*L)*a = 0.25*fu*L*a2 (L: section length)

A comparison of result averaging “Floating” vs. “Segment” vs. “Section”.

Floating 6a vs Segment 6a & 12a

1.2 Segment 12a

Throat section result calculation

Single sided: loadFact = 1, Double sided: loadFact = 0.5

 = k1* = 1.0*90° = 90°  = k1* = 0.5*90° = 45°

Random Vibration results

Scale Factor = 1: Scale Factor = 3:

General Eurocode 3 recommendations

Validity of the weld strength results

Using external post processing

The files created from Weld Strength are:

weld_sect_n_SId[edgeId].lis Node coordinates for the Weld Section edge

Weld Cases, Wuf (Eurocode 3)

Weld Cases, Wuf (AWS)

A & B: Mplast = 0.5Fa = 0.5(0.5aL)a = 0.25fuLa2 (L: section length)

 = k1 = 1.090° = 90°  = k1 = 0.590° = 45°

MY = 1000(50-1.77) + 5000(2.5+1.77) = 69580 Nmm