EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE SHEAR FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF STEEL STRUCTURE FILLET WELDS AT LOW TEMPERATURE

Although the research on the fatigue properties of welds at room temperature was conducted widely by scholars worldwide, little study on the fatigue properties at low temperature has been done. A number of fatigue tests were conducted by a high-frequency fatigue machine at temperatures of 0℃, -20℃ and -40℃. During the tests, side fillet welded and front fillet welded specimens were used. The test results show that the fatigue lives of the side fillet welded specimens increased with decreasing temperatures. However, the temperature did not have a significant influence on the fatigue lives of the front welded specimens. The fatigue performance of the front fillet welds was better than the side fillet welds. The fatigue failure cracks of the front fillet welds were through the weld. Meanwhile, the cracks of side fillet welds extended from the weld toe to the heat affected zone. The results show that the effect of the low temperature on the fatigue lives of different structural details does not have a uniform conclusion and needs further experimental analysis.