Crack initiation under static loads including the influence of residual welding stresses

Starting from the basic approaches for the reduction of ultimate strain for steel with increasing hydrostatic stress tensor a function is derived which reflects the different influences on ultimate strain abetting brittle fracture. This function, which via stress state includes the influence of residual stresses, e.g. due to welding, is a tool for predicting the formation of the crack. Nonlinear FE-analyses including a welding simulation macro are performed to describe the stress-strain situation up to the fracture state in component tests.