Notch energy-based low and high cycle fatigue assessment of load-carrying cruciform welded joints considering the strength mismatch

This study examines the Low and High Cycle Fatigue failure (LCF and HCF) of Load-carrying Cruciform Welded Joints (LCWJ) made of 10CrNi3MoV steel through a combined investigation of experimental, simulation, and analytical methods. LCF and HCF tests were conducted on LCWJ specimens with various weldment strength matching conditions and geometric configurations. Different fatigue failure modes can be observed from potential fracture points due to the discrepancy of strength and geometry in weldments, which exhibits the discrepancy of fatigue life. New uniform energy analytical formulations for Weld Toe (WT) and Weld Root (WR) are established to predict the LCF and HCF indicator of LCWJ considering the plasticity and mechanical heterogeneity effects of the weldments based on the generalized Neuber concept of Fictitious Notch Rounding (FNR). Furthermore, an effective notch energy indicator is introduced and implemented to evaluate fatigue behaviors of welded components in both LCF and HCF regimes. According to the proposed analytical solutions, experimental data from WT and WR failure under force and displacement-controlled cyclic loadings are evaluated and verified. The results show that the notch-energy indicator can express the unique relationship with fatigue life regardless of the strength mismatch ratios and geometry discrepancy.