Influence of residual stresses and loading frequencies on corrosion fatigue crack growth behavior of weldments

The effect of residual stresses and loading frequencies on corrosion fatigue crack growth behavior under synthetic seawater with a free corrosion potential was examined using center-cracked tension (CCT) and single edge-cracked tension (SECT) specimens machined from mild steel butt-welded joints and the parent material. A series of fatigue crack growth tests were carried out with a sinusoidal loading wave form at a stress ratio of 0.05 with a loading frequency of 0.017 to 6.7 Hz. The results show that the crack growth resistance of a weld metal in the SECT specimen is higher than that in the CCT specimen regardless of testing conditions. The discrepancy is attributed to the differences in residual stress distribution at the crack tip in the two specimen geometries. The crack growth rate of the weld metal in the CCT specimen in seawater increased with decreasing loading frequency. The acceleration of the crack growth rate may be related to the occurrence of brittle striation or cleavage due to hydrogen embrittlement. It was found that the corrosion fatigue crack growth rate of a welded joint with tensile residual stress can be predicted using the effective stress intensity factor range, which takes into account both the residual stress and the loading frequency effects.