ASME VIII Div. 2, 5.5.5 for Shell Elements

[Doodler3D]

Hi.

A couple of queries on the computation of nodal forces along the weld - is σ_mi and σ_bi the averaged value of stress across an element or is it the maximum unaveraged value of stress for the element along each force line considered? How many elements are to evaluated for the method for a 3/8" continuous weld of say 10" length with a mesh size of 1/4"?

Thank you!

 

[Doodler3D]

All,

I think my confusion is from the example given in PTB-3, where SCLs are directly utilized to extract membrane and bending stresses. In that case, there is no resolution of forces normal to the crack plane at the weld toe. However, for shell elements, the procedure is different as forces are resolved normally along the weld toe in local coordinates. Accordingly, in a shell mesh, is 5.5.5 applied to a element that sees the highest unaveraged VonMises stress in a converged linear solution?