Tests of local strains in steel laser - welded sandwich structure

This paper presents results of the tests of local strains in laser weld zone of steel sandwich structure, performed at the Department of Machine Design, University of Technology and Agriculture, Bydgoszcz, in cooperation with the Department of Ship and Offshore Structures Technology, Gdańsk University of Technology, within the frame of ASPIS EUREKA E!3074 project titled : „Application of steel sandwich panels into ship structural design”. Specific features of the tested structure make that in the weld zone both geometrical and structural notch appears simultaneously. The presented results may be helpful in further developing sandwich structures themselves and laser welding technique as well as their design methods as far as avoiding fatigue cracks is concerned.