Regarding fatigue and fracture mechanics we and our students deal with a variety of different topics. In this context, we include the following points to our range of services:
- Detail design
- New cutting and welding methods
- New materials
- Production and in-service influences on fatigue and fracture behaviour
Capabilities
1) Stress- and strain-based fatigue testing of base material and welded specimen
- Under tension-tension, tension-compression, and compression-compression loading
- Torsion loading
- At temperature ranging from -180°C to 600°C
2) Fatigue crack growth rate measurements
- Under tension-tension, tension-compression, and compression-compression loading
- At temperature ranging from -180°C to 600°C
3) Charpy impact and fracture toughness testing
- Charpy, CTOD, J-integral testing and determination of R-curves
- Under tensile, bending, shear and mixed-mode loading
- At temperature ranging from -150°C to 100°C
- By means of mechanical and 3D optical measurement systems
Equipment
Our laboratory is equipped with a number of various test machines and measurement devices.
- Fast dynamic resonance pulser (frequency ca. 30 Hz) with constant or variable loads of up to 200 kN / 600 kN as well as different stress ratios
- Uniaxial servo-hydraulic test facilities with individual adjustable loads of 25 kN to 1250 kN
- Testing under 3- or 4-point bending
- Cylinders in fixed frames for tensile, bending, shear, and mixed-mode loading
- Drop tower for impact testing
- Charpy impact testing equipment
- Laser sensors for weld geometry measurements etc.
Current Projects
- WeSKAL – Improved fatigue strength assessment of welded maritime load-bearing structures through scalable fatigue tests
- CorroFAT – Influence of corrosive media on the fatigue strength of offshore wind turbines
- Fatigue of Thermal Cut Edges in Shipbuilding Steel Structures
Completed Projects (since 2000)
- Fatigue damage from dynamic ice action (completed 2021)
- Approach to consider welding residual stresses in fatigue design using direct numerical simulations (Completed 2020)
- Fatigue of welded structures at sub-zero temperature (Completed 2019)
- Development of assessment methods for residual stresses at site joints of large-scale steel structures (Completed 2015)
- Laser welded T-Joints (Completed 2015)
- Fatigue Strength of Ship Structural Details Using Notch Stress Intensity Factors (Completed 2014)
- QuInLas – Quality based 3D laser-welding of innovative ship structures (Completed 2013)
- BESST – Breakthrough in European Ship and Shipbuilding Technologies (Completed 2013)
- Fatigue strength behaviour of welded threaded studs in load-carrying ship structures (Completed 2012)
- Fatigue behaviour of manually produced butt welds at thin plates considering common imperfections (Completed 2010)
- MARSTRUCT – Network of Excellence on Marine Structures (Completed 2010)
- Fatigue and fracture strength of block joints welded with large gaps (Completed 2010)
- Investigations of Supporting Structures for Deck Equipment and Cargo Securing (Completed 2009)
- Stiffened Plate Components in Steel Ship Structures
In Cluster: Applicability of Strength Assessment Approaches of Cyclic-Loaded Welded Structures (Completed 2008) - Comparative Investigation of the Fatigue Strength of Brackets (Completed 2006)
- FasdHTS – High Tensile Steel 690 in Fast Ship Structures (Completed 2004)
- Development of Standard Pipe Supports for Shipbuilding (Completed 2003)
- Partial Project P1: Strength Assessment in View of Increasing the Productivity in Joint Project: WIPS – Competitiveness by Product Simulation Supported by Information Technology in Shipbuilding
(Completed 2003) - Partial Project S3.2: Identification of Fatigue-Critical Areas in Ship Structures
In Joint Project: WIPS – Competitiveness by Product Simulation Supported by Information Technology in Shipbuilding (Completed 2003) - Introduction of High-Tensile Steel in Shipbuilding (Completed 2003)