Fatigue strength improvement by replacing welded joints with ductile cast iron joints

Abstract

In this study fatigue experiments are conducted for ductile cast iron (DCI) to compare with the fatigue strength of cruciform welded joints. Here, several DCI specimens are prepared to have nearly the same fatigue strength in smooth specimens before welding and to have similar cruciform shapes in the welded joints. It is found that the fatigue strength of DCI specimen is about three times larger than that of the welded joint specimens. The fatigue strength improvement can be explained in terms of the small stress concentration factor, notch insensitivity and compressive residual stress generated by shot blasting for DCI joints.