Very High Cycle Fatigue Behavior and Life Prediction of a Low Strength Weld Metal at Moderate Temperature

The fatigue properties of a low strength weld metal in a dissimilar welding joint in high cycle and very high cycle regimes were investigated by fully reversed axial tests in air at room temperature and 370°C. A clear duplex S-N curve existed as a result of the transition of fatigue failure mode from surface-induced failure to internal-induced failure at 370°C, while the S-N curve was continuously decreased at room temperature. A new model was successfully proposed to predict fatigue life, and interpret the crack initiation modes transition from surface inclusion to interior inclusion. It was concluded that cracks were initiated by competition among non-metallic inclusions, welding pores and discontinuous microstructures in high cycle regime. While in the very high cycle regime, non-metallic inclusions were the dominant crack initiation mechanism which depended on stress level, inclusion size as well as inclusion depth.