Corrosion Effect on the Efficiency of High-Frequency Mechanical Impact Treatment in Enhancing Fatigue Strength of Welded Steel Structures

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2022

Fatigue and corrosion are two material degradation phenomena that occur in welded steel structures. High-frequency mechanical impact (HFMI) treatment is a post-weld treatment method that aims to increase the fatigue strength of welded details. This paper investigates the effect of steel corrosion on the efficiency of this method in enhancing fatigue resistance. More than 150 fatigue test results on corroded and HFMI-treated welded details are collected from several research articles and analyzed for both transverse welded attachment and butt-welded details. The efficiency of HFMI treatment decreases in corroded details as the corrosion level increases. However, HFMI treatment is found to have a high potential in prolonging the fatigue life, even in circumstances of an extremely corrosive environment.