Study of fatigue strength assessment methods of welded structures based on nominal stress

The fatigue strength assessment methods for welded structures based on nominal stress, including in Chinese code for design of steel structures, British code for fatigue design and assessment of steel structures and International Institute of Welding standard for fatigue design of welded joints and components, were mainly analyzed and researched. The fatigue arithmetic in these codes is based on the classical fatigue theoretics and the assessing methods are simple and easy to use. Fatigue strength data provided in these codes come from fatigue testing in laboratory and so are reliable to be applied in actual engineering. It is practical to improve the safety and reliability of rolling stock using these data and methods in the fatigue strength analysis of rolling stock welded load-carrying structures.