Abstract

Long brittle crack arrestability is extremely important in welded joints of heavy gauge steel plates used in large container ships. Recently, much attention has been focused on potential long crack propagation along welds produced by large heat input welding. This paper examines the application of a fillet Tee joint to the strength deck structure of container ships to enhance crack arrestability. Ultra-large scale crack propagation tests were conducted to investigate long brittle crack propagation/arrest behavior in fillet Tee joint structures with varied plate thicknesses and weld metal toughness levels. The test results showed that a Tee joint structure with an appropriate fillet weld metal toughness for the thickness of heavy gauge plates arrests a long brittle crack in the fillet weld metal. This phenomenon shows the advantage of using a fillet Tee joint for long brittle crack arrest in the strength deck structures of large container ships.

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