Effect of Welding on Dynamic Characteristics of Structures : Examination of Response Characteristics and Reliability Based on Experiment

Abstract

Welding is widely used for construction of structures. This paper deals with the effect of welding on respnse characteristics and reliability of structures. First, the damping ratio and the natural frequency of a welded specimen are determined experimentally. Second, by using the obtained results, response characteristics of a mechanical model used to simulate a specimen subjected to stationary random excitations are examined. Third, the effect of welding on reliability is examined through estimation of the first passage probability. It is concluded that the effect of welding manifests as an increase in the damping ratio and as a decrease in response and failure probability. It is also concluded that the effect of welding on the natural frequency is very small. Finally, the applicability of the obtained results to actual structures is examined experimentally. In the experiment, the damping ratio increases when welding is used.