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A comprehensive fatigue performance assessment of friction stir welded DH36 steel has been undertaken to address the relevant knowledge gap for this process on low alloy steel. A detailed set of experimental procedures specific to friction stir welding has been put forward, and the consequent study extensively examined the weld microstructure and hardness in support of the tensile and fatigue testing. The effect of varying welding parameters was also investigated. Microstructural observations have been correlated to the weldments’ fatigue behaviour. The typical fatigue performance of friction stir welded steel plates has been established, exhibiting fatigue lives well above the weld detail class of the International Institute of Welding even for tests at 90% of yield strength, irrespective of minor instances of surface breaking flaws which have been identified. An understanding of the manner in which these flaws impact on the fatigue performance has been established, concluding that surface breaking irregularities such as these produced by the tool shoulder’s features on the weld top surface can be the dominant factor for crack initiation under fatigue loading

The weldability of high-strength steels (HSSs) is limited by their loss of strength, toughness and fatigue properties. In demanding applications, the fatigue properties of welds are among the strictest requirements. This paper presents a weldability analysis focusing on the microstructure and fatigue properties of 6 mm thick S690 and S355 HSS plates joined by friction stir welding. Their fatigue properties are compared to design recommendations and to fatigue properties obtained with other welding techniques. Results show that the high-quality friction stir welded steel joints outperform high-quality arc welds and FAT80 design recommendations. The fatigue strength of the friction stir welded joints is increased with material yield strength. The mechanisms governing crack initiation at different maximum stress levels are discussed. ARTICLE HISTORY

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