Abstract
The modified structural details of horizontal and vertical stiffeners to meet the requirement of robotics welding are needed in plate girder fabrication. This paper presents the relation between vertical stiffener-end-gaps and fatigue cracking. Fatigue tests are carried out on specimens which have different details between a flange and a vertical stiffener used for connection with a cross beam. The details considered are a vertical stiffener-end welded or tightly fitted to a flange, and vertical stiffener-end-gaps of 35 mm and 55 mm. Except for a vertical stiffener-end welded to a flange, fatigue cracks are caused at the vertical stiffener-ends and at the fillet welds between a flange and a web. The examination of the local stresses in the web at the vertical stiffener-ends makes a condition to prevent the cracking at the fillet welds.
