As an exercise, I am comparing simulation results of a simple fillet weld attaching a pipe to a plate.

The Simulation FEA results seem to be much more conservative than hand calcs from Blodgett - Design of Weldments.

Hand calcs = 0.058"

FEA = 0.208"

See below comparisons. Does anyone see anything amiss in my set up?

I am assuming the E70 (SUTS = 70 ksi) electrode is divided by the safety factor of 3.

Note: In the FEA, the pipe wall thickness is 0.25" and the plate thickness was considered to be 10" x 10" x 2"  thick (rigid).

Hand Calcs:

Reference: Section modulus of a circular weld group from Blodgett:

Simulation (Edge Welds):

Thanks,

Steve