The influence of weld geometry in conjunction with the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes on fatigue properties of AISI 304L load carrying transverse fillet welded cruciform joints, containing lack of penetration (LOP) defects, has been studied. The fatigue lives of the joints were evaluated using conventional S -N (stress - number of cycles to failure) and fracture mechanics methods. The fatigue lives were calculated according to the two stage approach in which both the fatigue crack initiation and the crack propagation phases were considered. Constant amplitude fatigue experiments with stress ratio R=0 were carried out using a 100 kN servohydraulic Dartec universal testing machine at a frequency of 30 Hz. An automatic crack monitoring system based on crack propagation gauges was used to obtain the crack initiation and propagation data during the fatigue process. The predicted life was compared with the experimental values. It was found that the fatigue lives of the joints fabricated via GTAW were longer than those of the corresponding GMAW joints. It was also observed that the fillet geometry plays a major role in determining the failure mode and life. Test results have been compared with the BS 5400 design curve.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.