Three HCF Models for Strain Fatigue Life of Welded Pipes in Austenitic Stainless Steel

Fatigue bending tests have been performed on welded pipes made from an austenitic stainless steel. Four types of loading were used: 1) constant amplitude, 2) a load expected at pressure vessel environment, 3) a Gaussian load, and 4) a specially constructed two-level block load. The twenty-eight test results are evaluated using three different models: 1) the classical Basquin equation neglecting the fatigue limit, 2) the ASME model with a fatigue limit, and 3) a model with continuously decreasing fatigue limit. No significant differences between the three models were found. Predictions based on constant amplitude results appear to be non-conservative.