Abstract In light of the intrinsic relationship between weld fatigue damage and the characteristics of magnetic leakage signals, fatigue experiments were conducted on butt welds to analyze the evolution of magnetic leakage signal as fatigue cycles increased. The introduction of two-dimensional spectral entropy allowed for the construction of a fatigue stage division model based on the two-dimensional spectral entropy diagram. The results revealed that distinctions between magnetic leakage signal under loaded and unloaded conditions were solely evident in their magnitude, with consistent curve distribution trends observed across various fatigue cycles. Furthermore, the distribution pattern of magnetic leakage signal displayed significant fluctuations, characterized by a sharp gradient increase following the emergence of fatigue cracks. These distribution characteristics of magnetic leakage signal differed markedly from the magnetic field distribution at other fatigue stages, with a higher growth rate observed as fatigue cycles increased. The two-dimensional spectral entropy spectrum analysis of magnetic leakage signals at different fatigue stages indicated the disorder in the magnetic leakage signal distribution within the high fatigue zone, signifying the expansion of fatigue microcracks. To some extent, two-dimensional spectral entropy can serve as an early warning system for detecting fatigue cracks in welds and achieving early identification of fatigue microcracks.
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