Fatigue Strength of Fillet-Welded Transverse Stiffeners With Undercuts

Steel girders are subjected to cyclic loading caused by the impact of vehicular traffic on a daily basis. Poorly detailed stiffener attachments will result in fatigue cracking of the girder. The effect of wrapping the stiffener-to-flange weld upon the fatigue life was evaluated. The impact of undercuts at the stiffener clip and flange edge upon fatigue strength was also determined. Several test specimens were developed including a stiffener detail with no clip opening. It was found that wrapping the welds around the stiffener had no impact upon the fatigue life of the specimens.