Effect of Welding Defects on Fatigue Properties of SWA490BW Steel Cruciform Welded Joints

Welding is prone to several defects. To test the fatigue properties of the welded defective joints of high-speed rail bogies, SMA490BW steel cruciform welded joints were employed with artificial defects treatment. Consequently, fatigue tests were conducted on the specimens. Fatigue fracture morphology was studied via scanning electron microscopy. The ABAQUS (version 2022) finite element software was used to calculate the stress distribution and concentration factor of cruciform welded joints with defects. The results show that the fatigue limits of 1 and 2.4 mm defect specimens were approximately 57.2 and 53.75 Mpa, respectively. Furthermore, the stress concentration factor of no, 1 mm, and 2.4 mm defects were 2.246, 4.441, and 6.684, respectively, indicating that the stress concentration factor of 1 and 2.4 mm defects increased by 98 and 198%, respectively, with respect to the no-defect case.