Fatigue strength of longitudinal joints for all steel sandwich panels

Applications of all metal sandwich panels on cruising ships are studied in this paper. The main topic discussed is the laser welding of these panels and the effect of production process on the fatigue strength of these panel and especially on the fatigue strength of the joints used. A number of test panels ate produced for tension fatigue testing of the joints. The initiation of the fatigue cracks is described and the effect of production on the location of crack initiation is discussed. The main concern is the accuracy of the corrugation of the core plate used. The corrugation is "hand made" causing some problems for the welding process. The planned applications of the all-steel sandwich panels on a crusing ship are discussed. At present the technology is available to install these panels as longitudinal bulkheads on a crusing ship. The application of these panels as upper deck structures need some further development.