Ultra low cycle fatigue behavior of Q690 high-strength steel welded T-stub joints: Experiments and fracture prediction analysis

Abstract

The paper presented an experimental and numerical investigation of the ultra low cycle fatigue behavior of high-strength steel welded T-stub joints. The normal and funnel T-stub joints in Q690 high-strength steel were tested under monotonic tensile loading and ultra low cyclic loading. The cyclic response of normal T-stub joints varying from bolt diameter, flange size and weld form were studied. It is found that fracture mode of the T-stub joints is basically the same under tensile loading and cyclic loading, i.e., cracking behavior occurs at the weld toe of the flange and tensile-shear failure is observed. The different configuration parameters of normal T-stub joints in the study show no significant influence on the fatigue life of the joints. Comparing the ultra low cycle fatigue results between normal and funnel T-stub joints indicates that the funnel T-stub joints have better energy dissipation capacity. In addition, the ultra low cycle fatigue performance of Q690 steel and ER80-G weld metal under various stress states were analyzed and discussed. In order to numerically generate the overall fracture behavior of the T-stub joins, the Lode parameter enhanced cyclic void growth model was adopted in the numerical simulation and the model parameters were calibrated according to the test results of Q690 steel and weld metal. Comparison with the experimental monotonic and cyclic tests of welded T-stub joints shows that the Lode parameter enhanced cyclic void growth model can provide accurate predictions of the ultra low cycle fatigue of the joints.