Int. J. Fatigue Vol. 20, No. 9, pp.

677–681, 1998
 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
0142–1123/98/$—see front matter

PII: S0142-1123(98)00031-0

Design fatigue strength of TIG-dressed

welded joints in high-strength steels
subjected to spectrum loading
T. Dahle
ABB Corporate Research, S-721 78 Västerås, Sweden
(Received 5 January 1998; accepted 2 April 1998)

A large amount of fatigue data from spectrum tests both on AW and post-weld treated welded joints
has been obtained during two inter-Nordic projects. These important results will soon gain effect in
practical applications through new design specifications furnished by industry. This investigation evaluates
the results from TIG-dressed joints and the importance of using steels with higher strength is emphasised.
Transforming these results to other types of joints is discussed, and proposed design S–N curves are
given.  1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

(Keywords: spectrum; TIG dressing; design S–N curve)

NOMENCLATURE non-load-carrying stiffeners applied in many fatigue

⌬␴eq Equivalent stress range determined from experiments and to study the effect of strength of the
a spectrum welded steel, since the TIG-dressing technique has
m Slope of the Basquin-type S–N curve been used for several years by industry to improve
⌬␴i Stress level i of the spectrum welds but not earlier reflected explicitly in design due
ni Number of cycles at level ⌬␴i in the to lack of data or design guides.
spectrum
Nt Total number of cycles in the spectrum EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Rp0.2 Yield strength of the steel
⌬f Increase in FAT value due to TIG The test specimen used in this investigation is a speci-
⌬S Nominal stress range men which is common in fatigue testing of welded
joints due to its residual stresses and stiffness (Figure
1). Four steels with nominal yield strengths 350, 590,
700 and 900 MPa were welded and TIG-dressed. The
INTRODUCTION first two are micro-alloyed structural steels and the last
In order to increase the fatigue performance on welded two quenched and tempered low-alloyed steels. Both
joints a number of post-weld improvement methods types possess good weldability and toughness. Their
exist. The increase in fatigue strength is postulated to strength properties are shown in Table 1.
be greater for higher-strength steels than for steels Other details and chemical compositions are given
normally used in welded components and structures.
Two categories of improvement techniques are in use,
i.e. those which impose beneficial compressive stresses
at the weld hot spot and those which improve the
geometrical shape of the weld toe. Most of the earlier
investigations performed with improved welds concern-
ing fatigue are conducted under constant amplitude
loading. Here, the main part of the work is concentrated
on tests performed under variable amplitude (=
spectrum) loading to simulate field service conditions.
Very few systematic investigations concerning the
possible benefit of increased strength of welds
improved with TIG exist.
This report is a compilation of tests performed on
TIG-dressed joints, i.e. using a test specimen with Figure 1 Specimen type

677
678 T. Dahle

Table 1 Strength properties of steel specimens be 3 based on regression analysis and constant-ampli-
tude tests. However, for improved welds a steeper
Designation Yield strength (MPa) Tensile strength slope (m > 3) is expected due to the increased extent
(MPa)
of crack initiation. Therefore, for all improved test
350 398 503
series in our test series, the equivalent stress is determ-
590 615 747 ined in the same manner, and the results are given as
700 780 850 equivalent stress range as a function of number of
900 900 1010 cycles to complete fracture of the specimen. Further-
more, the regression analyses of the TIG-dressed series
have been performed with all data including run-outs
due to few data in certain series. This estimation of
in Lopez Martinez et al.1 as well as parameters for the regression lines will lead to conservative estimates
welding and TIG dressing. Both constant-amplitude for the slope m for all series in question. The results
and variable-amplitude ( = spectrum) testing was car- for the different series are illustrated in Figures 3–6.
ried out. The spectrum type is the same as used
earlier2, SP2 (R = 0–0.77) and SP3 (R = − 1), which
are straight-line range-pair counted spectra and with I Evaluation of improvement
= 0.99. The improvement of fatigue strength due to TIG
dressing is evaluated by comparing each data point
RESULTS with that of the mean regression curve shown on the
graphs, which is the mean curve for the AW condition
Figure 2 shows a compilation of all spectrum tests for the 350 steel tested with constant amplitude. These
performed with the current specimen during our experi- lines are shown in Figures 3–6 with a scatter band of
ments on the as-welded condition (AW) of the joint ± 2 standard deviations on either side of the mean
representing around 500 specimens in steels with vary- curve. The justification for a common scatter band is
ing strength1. the presumption that fatigue data for the AW condition
for any steel ought to lie within that scatter band and
Evaluation of equivalent stress
any other tendency is due to randomness of the data.
To display constant-amplitude with variable-ampli- The amount of improvement is evaluated on specimens
tude data the stress spectrum is represented by an applied with spectrum loading.
equivalent stress under the presumption of valid linear Figure 3 shows the results from the TIG-dressed
damage rule (Palmgren–Miner) and a linear S–N curve specimens in the 350 steel, both CA and VA tests.
of the common Basquin-type with slope m and with The estimated regression line parameters for TIG (CA)
no cut-off limits. An equivalent stress range can then are: log C = 14.35 and m = 3.66. The calculated
be calculated as amount of improvement in this case is only performed
⌬␴eq = 冘
i
ni
Nt
⌬␴mi (1)
for the lower data points due to the relatively large
scatter. The improvement for each data point can be
stated as given in Table 2.
For the AW condition the slope m is determined to Similar calculations have been made for the other

Figure 2 Summary of constant amplitude and spectrum tests on as welded non-load-carrying, longitudinally stiffened welded joint specimen
with current as well as data from literature1
 Design fatigue strength of TIG-dressed welded joints in high-strength steels 679

Figure 3 TIG-dressed 350 steel results, constant-amplitude and variable-amplitude tests compared to the reference scatter band

Figure 4 TIG-dressed 590 steel results, constant-amplitude and variable-amplitude tests compared to the reference scatter band

steels and a summary of regression line constants and

improvements are given in Table 3.

Figure 5 TIG-dressed 700 steel results, constant-amplitude and vari-
able-amplitude tests compared to the reference scatter band
DISCUSSION
Improvement as a function of steel strength level
The effect of TIG dressing is due primarily to
smoothing the geometry and remelting of weld toe
material, including cracks or discontinuities, thereby
decreasing the total stress concentration of the welded
joint. Consequently, an increase in fatigue limit should
be expected. This has the beneficial effect of rotating
the S–N curve, giving a flatter appearance or more
negative slopes. At finite lives this means that the
‘extent of crack initiation’ (or small crack growth)
increases, which consequently leads to conventional
fatigue behaviour where the governing factors are stress
concentration factor, material strength, mean stress
effect, spectrum effects etc.
680 T. Dahle

Table 4 Parameters for TIG dressing S–N curves as function of

steel yield strength

Steel yield m* log C* Adjusted log C*

strength

350 3.21 12.77 12.17

590 3.44 13.50 12.90
700 3.64 14.09 13.49
900 3.73 14.37 13.77

intersection log C* as a function of yield strength for

the materials used in this investigation are shown in
Table 4.
Figure 6 TIG-dressed 900 steel results, constant-amplitude and vari- The slope and line intersection are shown as
able-amplitude tests compared to the reference scatter band. The regression lines in Figure 7. From the regression analy-
figure also shows the estimated S–N curve for the 900 steel on the sis the effect of yield strength on the slope is determ-
non-load-carrying longitudinal stiffener used in this investigation ined to be
from which the design curve is calculated
m* = 0.001064*Rp0.2 + 2.787819 (2)
Table 2 Calculated amount of improvement for TIG-dressed 350 Applying this method an example is illustrated in
steel Figure 6 for the 900 steel. It is seen that the estimated
S–N curve follows the data quite well.
Stress range (MPa) Failure cycles Calculated Design curves are usually estimated by moving two
improvement standard deviations below the mean curves, correspond-
ing to a failure probability of approximately 2.3%. The
175.1 3.936E + 05 1.147 characteristic FAT values6 at 2 × 106 cycles can be
175.1 3.322E + 05 1.084 estimated here with a standard deviation of log N =
175.1 4.435E + 05 1.194
87.6 3.840E + 06 1.226 0.3, which is relatively high and roughly corresponds
87.6 4.991E + 06 1.338 to the scatter found in the experiments. This is reflected
62.5 1.252E + 07 1.298 in the ‘adjusted log C’ in Table 4. This adjusted log C*
48.5 1.676E + 07 1.109 value is applied to calculate the final FAT value for
48.5 1.552E + 07 1.081
the TIG-dressed joint used in the current investigation
as a function of material yield strength. More
Mean improvement 1.185 importantly, the amount of increase in FAT value due
to TIG dressing as a function of strength level can be
used to estimate the improvement for other types of
joints if it is conceived that the behaviour is similar.
Table 3 Regression constants for CA and TIG series: summary
of TIG improvement for all steels
The increase in FAT is calculated from the data and
is shown in Figure 8 as a straight-line relationship, is
Steel log C m Average given by the following expression:
amount of
improvement
FAT increase due to TIG
= ⌬f = 0.001056 × Rp0.2 + 0.65982 (3)
398 14.35 3.66 1.185
615 15.62 4.18 1.424 The increase in FAT due to TIG dressing for the
780 16.77 4.66 1.725 350 steel having a yield strength of 398 MPa is
900 13.64 3.28 1.894 approximately 1.08 (8%), which is supported by the

The beneficial effect of material strength level on

the fatigue properties is clearly shown by the data.
The amount of data presented may be statistically too
small to construct design curves in the way that Gurney
and Maddox did3. Instead, following the notion of
Haagensen and Slind4, conservative S–N curves for the
TIG treatment above can be constructed from which
proposed design curves can be estimated. Using the
average improvement for each series (from Table 3)
as the TIG improvement at 2 × 106 cycles and the
point at 103 cycles (instead of 104 as proposed by
Haagensen and Slind4 following Buch’s concept5)
which lie on the reference line, these two points are
used to construct the new S–N curves (valid at a Figure 7 Proposed TIG-dressed design S–N curve slope m* and
failure probability of 50%). The slope m* and line line intersection log C* and yield stress dependency
 Design fatigue strength of TIG-dressed welded joints in high-strength steels
Figure 8 Increase in FAT value due to TIG as function of material
yield strength
data. This is a relatively small effect but with respect to
the great scatter the result is conservative. In practice, it
will probably be possible to achieve a better perform-
ance of the 350 steel especially with proper quality
control of the TIG welds. The equation for TIG-dressed
joints can then be calculated and written as
冉 冊
⌬f × FAT m*
N = 2 × 106
⌬S
where ⌬S is the stress range or equivalent stress range
from constant amplitude loading or spectrum loading
respectively.
There are very few data published in the open
literature concerning TIG-dressed joints in high-
strength steels subjected to spectrum fatigue since most
of the work is carried out using-constant amplitude
testing and lower-strength materials. From Huther et
al.’s7 data compilation only one reference deals with
spectrum fatigue (Overbeeke8, using a similar test
specimen). Unpublished data from TWI in which we
have taken part and which used a specimen with a
transversal welded stiffener and applied spectrum test-
ing (WASH-F) on a 700 type steel have shown that
the method proposed provides excellent predictability.
Other factors that will influence fatigue behaviour
apart from material strength and joint type are material
thickness and size of the tested component—factors
which not are covered by this investigation. An
example of TIG dressing applied to a full-scale compo-
681
nent in 590 steel is given in Dahle9, which roughly
confirms the improvements achieved here.
CONCLUSIONS
It has been shown that the TIG-dressing technique has
a beneficial effect of the welded joint tested in this
investigation and that the increase in fatigue strength
increases with the yield strength of the welded steel
and the FAT value for each steel can be determined
accordingly. The results are used to predict the behav-
iour of other types of joints subjected to spectrum
fatigue, applying a simple procedure to estimate the
S–N curves. Further investigation is recommended,
especially from weld categories other than fillet welds,
and more data and analyses are needed before a design
procedure can finally be established.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Adtranz/Helsingborg, Sweden, is gratefully acknowl-
edged for providing financial support to publish this
work.
REFERENCES
1 Lopez Martinez, L., Blom, A. F., Trogen, H. and Dahle, T.,
Fatigue behaviour of steels with strength levels between 350 and
900 MPa: influence of spectrum parameters and post weld treat-
ment. In Proceedings of NESCO I: Welded High-Strength Steel
Structures, Stockholm, Sweden, 1997.
(4) 2 Dahle, T., Spectrum fatigue life of welded specimens in relation
to the linear damage rule. In Proceedings: Fatigue under Spec-
trum Loading and in Corrosion Environments, Emas, Copenhagen,
1993, pp. 133–147.
3 Gurney, T. R. and Maddox, S. J., A re-analysis of fatigue data
for welded joints in steel. E/44/72, Welding Institute, Abington,
Cambridge, England, 1972.
4 Haagensen, P. and Slind, T., Life extension and repair of welded
joints by grinding and peening. IIW Doc. XIII-1511-93, Montreal,
Canada, 1993.
5 Buch, A., Fatigue Strength Calculation. Trans Tech, Aedermanus-
dorf, Switzerland, 1988.
6 Hobbacher, A., Fatigue design of welded joints and components.
IIW-XIII-1539-96/XV-845-96, Abington Publishing, Abington
Hall, Cambridge, England, 1996.
7 Huther, I., Lieurade, H. P., Souissi, R., Nussbaumer, A., Chabro-
lin, B. and Janosch, J.J., Analysis of results on improved welded
joints. Welding in the World, 1996, 37(5), 242–266.
8 Overbeeke, J. L., Alting, T. and Jonkers, P. A. M., Influence of
welded parameters on the fatigue strength under CA and VA
loading of welded joints in HSLA steels. In EIS 90 Conference:
Engineering Integrity Through Testing, Birmingham, 20–22
March 1990.
9 Dahle, T., Fatigue behaviour of a railway component: application
of new design criteria and TIG-remelting technique. In Proceed-
ings of NESCO I: Welded High-Strength Steel Structures, Stock-
holm, Sweden, 1997.