Effects of residual stresses on the fatigue behaviour of welded steel structures

Residual stresses due to the welding process in steel structures can significantly affect the fatigue behaviour. Usually, high tensile residual stresses up to the yield strength are conservatively assumed at the weld toes. This conservative assumption can result in misleading fatigue assessments. Areas with compressive residual stresses may be present in complex structures, where the details are less critical than predicted. This is shown in the paper by the example of fillet‐welded stiffener ends, where beneficial compressive residual stresses cause the initiation of fatigue cracks at other locations in less‐strained areas. Another example for the effects of residual stresses concerns the stress initiation and propagation at a structural detail under fully compressive load cycles. Fatigue cracks are possible here due to high tensile residual stress fields. The conclusion is that the welding‐induced residual stresses should be known in advance for a reliable fatigue assessment, which becomes possible to an increasing extent by numerical welding simulation.     

Seismic risk evaluation of steel structures based on low-cycle fatigue

This paper outlines a methodology to incorporate low-cycle fatigue in seismic risk evaluation of steel structures. The method is based on a simple cumulative damage model in which damage due to each plastic excursion is approximated by a Coffin-Manson type relationship. The parameters in this model are treated as random variables with distributions that are obtained from studies on the nonlinear seismic behavior of bilinear single-degree-of-freedom oscillators. The method is used to obtain an equivalent ‘single-excursion’ ductility demand which represents the same damage state as the low-cycle fatigue model. The proposed approach presents a realistic means of seismic risk evaluation and will provide a basis for establishing safer and more reliable steel structures.     

Thickness effects on the fatigue strength of welded steel cruciforms

Over 100 fatigue tests were conducted on high strength welded steel (HSLA-80) cruciforms of different thickness. Tests were conducted under both constant and random amplitude axial loads to characterize thickness effects on fatigue strength. Specimens were similar in size, except for the thickness which was varied between four nominal values. Examination of both experimental and analytical results (obtained using linear cumulative damage and Rayleigh approximation) indicates thicker specimens exhibit lower fatigue lives under both constant and random amplitude loadings. These results, when compared with the commonly used ‘fourth root rule' thickness correction formula, indicate the latter to be generally conservative, particularly at low stress levels.     

Effect of prestrain on and prediction of fatigue limit in carbon steel

The effect of prestrain on the fatigue limit of 0.1% (annealed) and 0.5% (quenched and tempered) carbon steel was investigated. Formulas for predicting the fatigue limit of carbon steels were proposed. The fatigue limit of 0.1% carbon steel increased with increasing surface hardness and surface compressive residual stress imposed by prestrain. The fatigue limit decreased when precracks were generated on the surface, in spite of a large surface compressive residual stress in the case of 0.5% carbon steel. The precrack, variation of surface hardness and surface residual stress were considered to be parameters applicable in formulas for predicting the fatigue limit of prestrained carbon steels. The calculated results of such formulas showed good agreement with the experimental results.     

Multiaxial fatigue life assessment of welded structures

Welded structures, such as welded pressure vessel components subjected to multiaxial cyclic loading, are particularly susceptible to fatigue damage. In this paper, a new path-length-based effective stress range is proposed to assess the fatigue life of weld joints under multiaxial fatigue loading. The path-length measure, a function of both normal and shear components on a critical crack plane, has a solid root in classic fracture mechanics and its application is validated by correlating nominal fatigue data including pure-bending, pure-torsion, in-phase, and out-of-phase loading. Path-Dependent Maximum Range (PDMR), a unique general-purpose fatigue life assessment package for multiaxial variable-amplitude loading, is introduced in this paper. Finally, the application of PDMR to multiaxial fatigue life assessment of complex loading cases is also discussed.     

A method of determining geometric stress for fatigue strength evaluation of steel welded joints

This paper presents a new method for evaluating the geometric or structural stress in welded constructions. The method is based on the computed stress value 1-mm below the surface in the direction corresponding to the expected crack path. The total stress distribution along the crack path direction is considered to be the sum of the geometric stress caused by the structural geometry change and the non-linear local stress produced by the weld itself. Linear elastic fracture mechanics is used to correlate the total stress based crack propagation life and the local stress based crack propagation life to explain the geometric stress evaluated 1-mm below the surface. Validity of the method is further verified by analyzing fatigue test results for several typical welded joints reported in literature. When compared to the surface extrapolation technique for structural hot spot stress evaluation, the proposed method has the additional advantage in that it is able to account for the size and thickness effect observed in welded joints.     

Effect of submillimeter size holes on the fatigue limit of a high strength tool steel

The very high cycle fatigue and small fatigue crack growth behaviour of a generic tool steel material for diesel fuel injector application are described. The small crack growth tests for the tool steel material with and without the hardening heat treatment revealed the mechanisms of crack propagation and threshold behaviour. Based on the small fatigue crack propagation threshold value, an elastic plastic fracture mechanics methodology for the prediction of the endurance limit of specimens with submillimeter holes is proposed. The advantages of the new methodology are discussed in relation to existing methodologies for endurance limit prediction of specimens with small holes.     

A multi-channel fatigue monitor for fatigue life estimation of welded steel constructions

The Danish Welding Institute has developed an experimental ndt system for monitoring the dynamic load characteristics of constructions under operational conditions. The present version of the system is specifically designed to look at the fatigue properties of welded steel constructions. Individual load size spectra of up to 31 weld samples can be obtained simultaneously over a specified monitoring period, giving an estimate of the expected fatigue life of the weld. The apparatus comprises a micro-computer with a 32-channel signal converter, a teletype to perform external communication, and up to 32 groups of strain gauges. A signal sample rate higher than 2000 per second may be obtained, yielding an upper cut-off frequency to the load spectrum determination within the kHz range.     

Interaction equations for multiaxial fatigue assessment of welded structures

Multiaxial fatigue data from 233 welded test specimens taken from eight different studies have been evaluated based on three published interaction equations for normal and shear stress. The interaction equations were obtained from SFS 2378, Eurocode 3 and International Institute of Welding (IIW) recommendations. Fatigue classes for normal and shear stress were obtained directly from the design guidance documents. Additionally, mean fatigue strengths were determined by regression analysis of bending only and torsion only data for different specimen types. In some cases, the S–N slopes assumed by the different standards were not appropriate for the test data. Specimens that showed significantly different cracking locations or cracking mode between bending and torsion were not easily correlated by the interaction equations. Interaction equations work best in cases where both the normal stress and the shear stress tend to produce crack initiation and growth in the same location and in the same direction. The use of a damage summation of 0.5 for non‐proportional loading as recommended by IIW was consistent with experimental observations for tube‐to‐plate specimens. Other codes used a damage sum of unity.     

Mean stress effects in fatigue of welded steel joints

Mean stress effects in steel weldments were examined under both constant and random narrowband amplitude fatigue loadings. The purpose of these tests was to provide experimental data with which to substantiate the use of analytical expressions to account for mean stress effects. Fatigue tests were performed under both tensile and compressive mean stress levels. Test results indicate agreement with the modified Goodman equation to be favorable in accounting for the effect of tensile mean stresses on fatigue life. However, test results from high fatigue loadings (maximum stresses nominally above half ultimate) were found to possess better agreement with the Gerber formulation than with the modified Goodman one. Behavior under compressive mean stresses indicated a linear correction relationship was required, which was less conservative than any of the relationships considered. Test results obtained under random amplitude fatigue loadings exhibited trends similar to those observed under constant amplitude loadings. This finding, along with supporting analysis, indicates that the same correction relationship can be used in the same manner for both constant amplitude and random (narrowband) amplitude loadings.     

The fatigue threshold, surface condition and fatigue limit of steel wire

To test the hypothesis that fatigue cracks in drawn, pearlitic steel wire propagate from pre-existing surface defects which can be treated as cracks, the fatigue limits of five different wires have been statistically determined. The fatigue thresholds were measured using a new AC potential drop method and the initial defect depths then calculated using the equation a_o=1π(ΔK_th/2σ_e)² and compared with observed values.

For higher strength steel wires (σ_u>1800 MPa) the agreement was very good; for the lower strength steel wire (σ_u=1469 MPa), however, the observed values were smaller than the calculated ones. The reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. A quantitative model is developed from the hypothesis and the influence of residual tensile stresses, decarburization and polishing on the fatigue limit of drawn steel wire is assessed.     

Fatigue life evaluation for multi-spot welded structures

A procedure using a conventional stress value (ERS, equivalent radial stress) to evaluate fatigue behaviour is applied to spot welded joints. The ERS is based on a closed-form solution of a theoretical bi-dimensional model of the spot weld area, under various types of loading conditions; ERS can be determined for every spot weld of the jointed structure. The closed-form solution is also digitalized in order to define a spot element which can be used in FE simulation of multi-spot structures, providing profit both in accuracy and in computing time saving.Through the use of ERS-N curves, fatigue data collected on different joint geometries can be successfully mixed together. One of the main aspects evidenced is that progressive damage deeply influences fatigue behaviour: a simple numerical solution neglecting accumulated damage is unable to foresee the whole fatigue life. Indeed, the final value of ERS is given accounting the progressive damage effects of spot welds using a non-linear damage-step procedure. In the present paper the method has been applied to many experimental results: it is shown that a single criterion is used to deal with several different structures and materials.     

Size effects in the fatigue behavior of welded steel tubular bridge joints

Tubular space trusses for bridge applications use thick‐walled tubes. The reduction in fatigue resistance due to geometrical size effects is thus an important issue. In order to carry out a thorough study, both fatigue tests on large‐scale specimens and advanced 3D crack propagation modelling were carried out at ICOM/EPFL. The study is limited to circular hollow sections (CHS) K‐joints. An alternate current potential drop (ACPD) system is used to measure crack depth on nodes of the tested truss specimens. The results obtained from the tests are given in the paper in terms of S‐N data, crack depth versus number of cycles and deduced crack propagation rates. The numerical model was developed using the dual boundary elements method (DBEM), software BEASY?, and was validated with fatigue tests data. The stress intensity factors (SIF) along the doubly curved crack front at different crack depths were obtained. With this model, a parametric study investigates the influence of geometry, size and load case on fatigue life. The results of both proportional and non‐proportional sizing effects on fatigue strength are presented. The paper shows that size effects (proportional and non‐proportional) can be expressed as a function of the non‐dimensional parameters and chord thickness.     

Cumulative fatigue damage of stress below the fatigue limit in weldment steel under block loading

To investigate the cumulative fatigue damage below the fatigue limit of multipass weldment martensitic stainless steel, and to clarify the effect of cycle ratios and high‐stress level in the statement, fatigue tests were conducted under constant and combined high‐ and low‐stress amplitude relative to stress above and below the fatigue limit. The outcomes indicate that neither modified Miner's nor Haibach's approach provided accurate evaluation under repeated two‐step amplitude loading. Moreover, effect of cycle ratios has been determined. Additionally, the cumulative fatigue damage saturated model is established and validated. Cumulative fatigue damage contributed by low‐stress below the fatigue limit in high stress of 700 MPa is higher than that with 650 MPa at identical conditions (fatigue limit 575 MPa). Thus, high stress affects fatigue damage behaviour below the fatigue limit. A new predicted approach has been proposed based on Corten‐Dolan law, whose accuracy and applicability have been proven.