Increasing the durability of butt-welded joints operating under cyclic loads in a biaxial stress field

Introduction. In sheet and hull structures operating under pressure, destruction, as a rule, is localized along the transition line from the base metal to the weld metal. Methods of increasing the durability of butt-welded joints, which are aimed at reducing stress concentration and creating favorable residual compression stresses, are described. Materials and Methods. The tests were carried out on an installation for biaxial bending, which created a biaxial stress field. Factory-made coupons and samples with an additionally processed transition zone from the weld metal to the base metal were tested. The effectiveness of further processing is shown by the following methods: - abrading; - grit hardening; - abrading with grit hardening; - melting of the fusion line in argon without filler wire; - melting of the fusion line in argon with filler wire EP-410U; - melting of the fusion line without filler wire with plastic deformation between narrow rollers. Results. The origin, development of destruction, and its features were analyzed using different methods of further processing of joint welds. Confidence spans (95 %) of the origin and development of failures for joint welds and base metal were calculated. The efficiency of the proposed methods for further processing was evaluated. Discussion and Conclusions. An analysis of the effectiveness of methods for increasing the durability of butt-welded joints has shown that the creation of a smooth transition from the weld metal to the base metal reduces significantly the stress concentration. This provides increasing the number of cycles before the onset of destruction and the survivability of compounds. Due to compressive stresses in the near-weld area, it is possible to increase the durability of joint welds. The most effective methods of further processing of welds combine the reduction of stress concentration and the creation of residual compression stresses. The high-tech solution is remelting the transition zone in an argon medium with an additional EP-410U filler wire.