Fatigue Life of 7005 Aluminum Alloy Cruciform Joint Considering Welding Residual Stress

An evaluation method is proposed for determining the full fatigue life of aluminum alloy cruciform joint, including the crack initiation and propagation with welding residual stress. The results of simulations have shown that the boundary between the initiation and propagation stage is not constant, but a variable value. The residual stress leads to a significant reduction in both stages, which is more severe on initiation. With considering residual stress, the ratio of crack initiation to total life is below 7%. The effect of residual stress varies with external loading; when external load is lower, the residual stress has a greater effect.

Simulation of Ti-6Al-4V cruciform welded joints subjected to fatigue load using XFEM

The stress distribution of cruciform shape welded joints is analyzed by finite element codes ABAQUS. Welded joints with various weld shapes and sizes are investigated to estimate the fatigue life of different joints. The fatigue behavior is evaluated under constant amplitude loading (R=0.1). The aim of this work is fatigue behavior evaluation of fillet welded cruciform joint for different weld geometry. The weld geometry are considered: concave, convex and flat weld shape of different weld sizes. The stress intensity factor (SIF) of a TI 6AL4V, is calculated by using Extended finite element method (XFEM) in ABAQUS software. Simulations of fatigue life for different weld shapes at different stresses are analyzed and crack initiations are identified the number of severe fatigue life cycles which are obtained are very close to the theoretical values. In present study the importance of XEFM method is recognized to predict the crack growth rate for convex specimen which is subjected maximum fatigue stress.

Low-cycle fatigue test and life assessment of carbon structural steel GB Q235B butt joints and cruciform joints

Axial low-cycle fatigue tests are conducted on transverse butt joint specimens and cruciform joint specimens made of carbon structural steel GB Q235B. The effect of slip between the specimens and the grips of the test machine is considered by the proposal of a linear slip model. The cyclic softening properties are studied by observing the variation of stress amplitude with cycles. The cyclic stress–strain curve and the strain–life curve for both kinds of specimens are obtained based on the fatigue test data, and the corresponding coefficients are fitted. In order to verify the fatigue test results, finite element models of specimens are established and the corresponding fatigue life assessment is conducted using the local stress–strain approach and the equivalent structural stress approach, respectively. The results show that the effect of slip is unneglectable and the established linear slip model is reasonable. The two kinds of specimens both show a strain softening property, but cruciform joint specimens experience sudden falls of stress amplitude during the test due to the damage of welded lines; cruciform joint specimens show an either one-side failure mode or two-side failure mode while butt joint specimens only show a one-side failure mode; the two-side failure mode tends to lead to shorter fatigue life, so in the design of cruciform joint, such failure mode should be avoided.

Strain-Based Fatigue Reliability Analysis of a Load-Carrying Fillet Welded Cruciform Joint

The objective of this work is to perform a fatigue reliability analysis of a load-carrying fillet welded cruciform joint based on the local strain approach. The effective notch stresses of the weld root and toe of the cruciform joint, where the fatigue cracks are usually initiated, are estimated by the finite element method and the fatigue notch factors of these two locations as a function of the weld leg and slit lengths are explicitly represented by response surface models. Within the context of the local strain approach, a critical fatigue notch factor that can exactly trigger fatigue failure is proposed. The statistical descriptors of the critical fatigue notch factor are determined by using the Monte Carlo simulation method, in which the nominal stress range, material properties and fatigue damage at failure are treated as random variables. The limit state functions of the weld root and toe are formulated based on the response surface models and critical fatigue notch factors. The first order reliability method is applied to evaluate the reliability against the fatigue damage. Finally, the cruciform joint system, composed by the two fatigue-prone locations, is evaluated as a series system of components.

Weld Magnification Factor Approach in Cruciform Joints Considering Post Welding Cooling Medium and Weld Size

The objective of this research is to develop an experimental-theoretical analysis about the influence of the cooling medium and the geometry of the welding bead profile in fatigue life and associated parameters with structural integrity of welded joints. A welded joint with cruciform geometry is considered using SMAW, plates in structural steel ASTM A36 HR of 8 mm of thickness and E6013 electrode input. A three-dimensional computational model of the cruciform joint was created using the finite element method. For this model, the surface undulation of the cord and differentiation in the mechanical properties of the fusion zone were considered, the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and base material, respectively. In addition, an initial residual stress field which was established experimentally was considered. The results were a set of analytical expressions for the weld magnification factor Mk. It was found that values for the latter decrease markedly in function of the intensity of the cooling medium used in the post welding cooling phase, mainly due to the effect of the residual compressive stresses. The obtained models of behavior of the weld magnification factor are compared with the results from other researchers with some small differences, mainly due to the inclusion of the cooling effect of the post weld and the variation of the leg of the weld bead. The obtained analytical equations in the present research for Mk can be used in management models of life and structural integrity for this type of welded joint.