Welding Defect Analysis in Thin-Walled Steel Tube under Bending Moment

The linear elastic problem for two welded thin-walled steel tubes containing circular arc weld defect subjected to bending load is analyzed in the present paper. The welding defect is firstly simplified as a circular arc crack and then the finite element based technique is used to calculate the corresponding energy release rate (J-integral), which is related to stress intensity factor directly. Finally, the arc length of welding defect is changed to investigate the variation of stress intensity factors.