Fatigue life of AISI 316L stainless steel welded joints, obtained by GMAW

Abstract

An investigation was conducted in order to determine the effect of both the metallic transfer mode (pulsed arc or short circuit) and the O2 content in the Ar/O2 gas mixture, of the gas-metal arc welding process (GMAW), on the fatigue life under uniaxial conditions of welded joints of 316L stainless steel. It was concluded that the mixture of the shielding gases employed in the process could have an important influence on the fatigue life of the welded joints of such steel in two different ways. Firstly, through the modification of the radius of curvature at the joint between the welding toe and the base metal and, secondly, through a more pronounced degree of oxidation of the alloying elements induced by a higher O2 content in the mixture. As far as the metallic transfer mode is concerned, it has been determined that the welded joints obtained under a pulsed arc mode show a greater fatigue life in comparison with the joints obtained under short circuit for both gas mixtures. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.