Constant and variable amplitude loading of 6261 aluminium alloy I-beams with welded cover plates - Influence of weld quality and stress relief

MN James, AE Peterson, N Sutcliffe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A study of the constant amplitude and variable amplitude (VA) fatigue performance of 6261-T6 aluminium I-beams with a welded rectangular cover plate is reported. The test programme involved > 100 specimens and considered the effects of weld 'quality' (in terms of weld toe angle, leg length and heat input), and thermal and vibratory stress relief on stress-life curves under simple repeated two-level block loading. The number of high-to-low amplitude cycles in a single VA block was varied from 1/20, through 10/20 to 1/1000 and 1/50,000. Load amplitude increase percentages of 25%, 75% and 150% were considered. Observed fatigue lives were compared with the predictions of Miners rule and explanations are proposed for situations where Miners rule is non-conservative. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)125-133
Number of pages0
JournalINT J FATIGUE
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 1997

Keywords

  • variable amplitude fatigue
  • welded cover plates
  • vibratory stress relief
  • linear damage life assessment
  • aluminium I-beams

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