Geometrical Influence of a Butt Weld in the Low Cycle Fatigue Regime

This contribution deals with the low cycle fatigue behaviour of butt-welded joints of austenitic stainless steel (Type 347). The influence of the geometrical notch of a butt weld on the fatigue life in LCF regime is of particular interest in this context. For the purpose of comparison different weld geometries – as-welded and machined – are investigated. Fatigue tests reveal that the weld notch does not always constitute the failure location in the LCF regime. Accompanying numerical simulations are based on 3D scans with a resolution of 30 μm in order to receive accurate local strain amplitudes at the weld notch or rather the failure location. The combination of experiments and numerical simulations results in local strain life curves.