Crane runway beams of hot-rolled I sections are frequently the supporting structures of top-running overhead bridge cranes. In case of light crane service, the crane rails are usually fastened to top flange of the crane runway beams by fillet welding. A survey among steel construction companies is presented showing that continuous rail […]
Crane runway beams of hot-rolled I sections are frequently the supporting structures of top-running overhead bridge cranes. In case of light crane service, the crane rails are usually fastened to top flange of the crane runway beams by fillet welding. A survey among steel construction companies is presented showing that continuous rail welds as well as intermittent rail welds are commonly used.
The rail welds are subject to multiaxial fatigue since they are exposed to normal and shear stresses due to the local wheel load introduction and global bending. Currently, Part 1-9 of Eurocode 3 neither provides an appropriate detail category nor a nominal stress formula for rail welds.
The paper describes the differences in the stress analysis between intermittent and continuous rail welds because of the contact between rail and top flange that has to be assumed for intermittent rail welds. Based on work samples, the contact conditions of intermittent rail welds are characterized as ‚technical contact‘ (in contrast to ‚ideal contact‘) due to imperfections within the contact surfaces that are described in detail.
A Finite Element model is presented that accounts for the ‚technical contact‘ between rail and flange. This model is analysed in a parametric study to identify the decisive contact parameters on the nominal stresses in intermittent rail welds. A nominal stress formula is proposed.
Session
| Room | Date | Hour | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room 8 | Wednesday 29th November | 17:00-17:30 | Elena Sidorov S07-2 Experimental and numerical design and validation methods 42 - Nominal stresses in continuous and intermittent rail welds of crane runway beams |
