Fatigue life prediction of gas metal arc welded crucifrom joints of AA7075 aluminium alloy failing from root region

Empirical relationship was developed to predict the fatigue life of gas metal arc welded (GMAW) cruciform joints failing from root region. High strength, age hardenable aluminium alloy of AA7075-T6 grade was used as the base material. The design of experiments concept was used to optimize the required number of fatigue testing experiments. Fatigue experiment was conducted in a servo hydraulic controlled fatigue testing machine under constant amplitude loading. The empirical relationship was developed. By using the developed empirical relationship, the fatigue life of GMAW cruciform joints failing from root region was predicted at 95% confidence level. The effect of cruciform joint dimensions on fatigue life was discussed in detail.