Fatigue life improvement of welded cover-plates using High Frequency Mechanical Impact treatment

Paper in proceeding, 2024

This paper reports the results of an experimental and analytical study on the fatigue performance of welded cover-plates the fatigue strength of which is enhanced by the application of High Frequency Mechanical Impact treatment (HFMI). Beams with welded cover plates were produced of S355 steel, and fatigue tested at an R-ratio of 0.1. The results from preliminary numerical analysis to evaluate the risk for root cracking in these details are also reported. The results from testing show that HFMI-treatment can produce an improvement in fatigue strength of welded cover-plates with more than four detail categories. No root cracking was observed in any of the tested beams.