Since 1954, a great number of study and research has been carried out on fatigue behaviors of stud shear connectors and much useful information have been obtained and reported. Nowadays, stud is becoming the most common type of mechanical shear connector available and it is being used exclusively in composite structure such as bridge, large gravity type structure (breakwater, bulkhead wharf, coastal revetment etc) and Very Large Floating Structure (VLFS) consists of hybrid caisson and pontoon.

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... ybrid caisson and pontoon structure used at the coast and offshore is built from multiple layers of extremely thin steel plate which form the box of steel shell where large number of studs are welded onto it and embedded into concrete. Over decades, stud has been of important role as shear connector in composite structure; a number of rules and regulations have been set for its design and application. However, at present, the fatigue strength relation between stud diameter (d) and steel plate thickness (t) is not being established in any design guidelines or specifications for steel structure. In such present condition, this research is carried out to establish a fatigue design method with respect to diameter-thickness relation of stud and steel plate by conducting experiment on a series of test specimens. A modified S-N fatigue equation by introducing d/t element based on the results from experimental data is introduced here as a future reference for design of stud and steel structure.