There exists a large number of structures with welding joints that represent critical spots and are subjected to dynamic loads in modern designing. Welded structures are still presented as one of the most commonly used methods for joining supporting elements in serial productions. To avoid structural damage and collapse of joints several methods for the evaluation and detection of damage in welded structures have been developed. In this master's thesis, several methods for the prediction of the life time of welding are presented that are based on the (i) Smith-Watson-Topper (or SWT) parameter, (ii) method of geometric tension in accordance with standard EUROCODE 3-1.9, (iii) standard calculation based on EUROCODE 3-1.9 and (iv) use of the specialized computer program FEMFAT. In comparison with real physical tests it can be concluded that FEMFAT in spite of conservative predictions makes the best life time predictions for welding joints.
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