Fatigue strength evaluation of friction stir welded aluminium joints using the nominal and notch stress concepts

In this study the fatigue strength is investigated for Friction Stir Welded (FSW) overlap and butt welded joints in different thicknesses based on nominal and effective notch stress concepts. The fatigue test results are compared with fatigue strength recommendations according to EN 1999-1-3 and International Institute of Welding (IIW). The results are also compared with available published data and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is carried out to investigate the effect of plate thickness and nugget size on the fatigue strength of overlap joints. 3–3 mm butt welded joints shows the highest fatigue strength in comparison with 3–5 mm butt welded and overlap joints. Slopes of the SN-curves for two different joint types differ from the slope recommended by IIW. A specific failure trend is observed in overlap FSW joints. However, the slopes of the SN-curves are in close agreement with slopes found in EN 1999-1-3. The slopes of various published results and test results presented in this study are in good agreement with each other. The suggested fatigue design curves for the nominal and effective notch stress concept have a higher slope than given for fusion welds by IIW.

► Fatigue testing and evaluation of friction stir welded butt and overlap joints.
► Evaluation based on nominal and effective notch stress concept.
► Comparison with different design recommendations and codes.
► Higher fatigue strength and SN-slopes is observed.
► New fatigue design recommendations proposed for FSW joints.