Low-and High-Cycle Fatigue Behaviour of Load-Carrying Cruciform Joints Containing Incomplete Penetration and Strength Mismatch

Abstract

This study investigated the low- and high-cycle fatigue strength of load-carrying cruciform joints containing incomplete penetration and strength mismatch between base metal and weld deposit, and proposed an assessment method based on the local approach. Low- and high-cycle fatigue tests were performed on specimens with varying mismatch and sizes of incomplete penetration. The test results revealed that the crack initiation life was extremely small for this type of joint. In fractographs, dimples observed around the crack initiation site provided evidence of ductile crack propagation. Also, it was found that strength mismatch had a negligible effect on the high-cycle fatigue strength but that under-matching reduced the low-cycle fatigue region. However, a unique relationship was found between local strain around a weld root tip calculated by elasto-plastic finite element analysis and both the low- and high-cycle fatigue life of the specimen.