Assessment of the Effect of Residual Stresses Arising in the HAZ of Welds on the Fatigue Life of S700MC Steel

Fine-grained steels, which belong to the HSLA (High-Strength Low-Alloy) group of steels, are increasingly used for parts of statically and dynamically loaded constructions. Due to the thermal effect of welding, combined with the inherent stiffness and clamping stiffness of the part, residual stresses are generated in the HAZ (heat-affected zone) which affect the fatigue life of the sub-weld and the entire construction. In this article, a specific temperature cycle measured during welding is used, which, together with a defined clamping stiffness, produces residual stresses of a defined shape and value in the sample. Subsequently, the effect of these stresses on the fatigue life on the change of the S-N curve compared to the annealed material, is assessed. Temperature cycles were applied using a Gleeble 3500 and the residual stresses were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the effect of residual stresses decreased the fatigue strength by 33% compared to the annealed material. It was further found that by using annealing to reduce the residual stresses, it is possible to restore the fatigue life of S700MC steel to the original value of the base material.