On March 3, 2015, the 6th specialist conference entitled "Dimensioning and Designing" took place at SLV Halle GmbH under the management of Dr. Kranz and Mr. Wagner from the Research & Development and Materials Engineering departments. After attention focused on the avoidance of brittle fractures two years ago, the recent conference was staged on the main focal point of the fatigue strength of welded joints depending on the existing weld quality.
Over 50 participants, principally from engineering offices for the planning of supporting structures, from planning departments of structural steel engineering plants and machine and installation manufacturers as well as from rail vehicle construction, obtained information about relevant detailed regulations.
After the Managing Director of SLV Halle GmbH, Prof. Keitel, had extended brief greetings to the participants, Prof. Hobbacher from the Wilhelmshaven University of Applied Sciences initiated the conference with his lecture about the status of international research and the associated activities in the International Institute of Welding (IIW). Another lecture dealt with the subject of the influences not only of internal weld irregularities such as pores, clusters of pores and solid inclusions but also of the weld geometry on the fatigue strength of welded joints; a research project which is currently being conducted at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials (IWM) in Freiburg and at SLV Halle GmbH under the overall responsibility of the Research Association of DVS. The subsequent lectures introduced the regulations relating to the connection between the fatigue strength of welded joints and the weld quality in the sectors of mechanical engineering, pressure device construction, rail vehicle construction, structural steel engineering as well as the construction of large opencast mining devices and shipbuilding. The event was rounded off not only by specialist discussions in the breaks but also by visits to the testing laboratories for destructive and non-destructive testing as well as to the vibration field of SLV Halle GmbH.
Because of the absolutely positive reactions of the participants, SLV Halle GmbH plans to repeat this specialist conference on March 7, 2017. Then, the precise contents will once again be oriented to the subjects to be dealt with urgently.
The proceedings of the 6th specialist conference entitled "Dimensioning and Designing" can be ordered from http://www.slv-halle.de/download/tagungsbandbestellung/.
Author:
Dr.-Ing. Bernd Kranz
Head of the R&D Department
SLV Halle GmbH
Köthener Straße 33a
06118 Halle