Welded machine elements – Design and static calculation of welded components

While the article [BM 5189] covers and develops the fundamental aspects of the design of welded constructions and ends with a presentation of elementary welded joints, the following text develops and details in detail the design and calculation aspects of elementary welded components frequently used within mechanical assemblies, such as :

• straight and curved box girders,

• angular frame connections,

• orthotropic stiffening of bases and windchests,

• rotating components such as drums and crankpin-axle connections.

To a large extent, the above-mentioned components are not redundant and must therefore offer a high degree of reliability, and it becomes essential that their design be studied with the utmost care. For this reason, the author analyzes these components in terms of :

• their design with regard to performance under static loading and variable stress (fatigue),

• dimensioning of welded sections and assemblies under static loading.

It should be noted that the dimensioning of sections and welded joints under variable stresses (fatigue), which requires precise knowledge of the stress fields in the structures and calls for special methodologies, is developed in the article [BM 5191] .

Finally, the article covers both steel and aluminum alloy structures.

As the title implies, this article deals only with the situation of box girders, which are more versatile and, in principle, better suited than their I- or H-section counterparts to the construction of structures with a mechanical function.

A table of acronyms and symbols is provided at the end of the article.