The influence of weld defect, residual stress and microstructure on the Low Cycle Fatigue (L.C.F.) behaviour of AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel weldment has been studied.
The specimens were welded by shielded metal are welding process, post weld heat treated(PWHT) at 900℃ for 1.5 hrs, and tested under total strain controlled condition at room temperature.
The results of the experiment showed that weld defect affected the L.C.F. behaviour of weldment deleteriously compared to the residual stress or microstructure, and it reduced the L.C.F. life about 70-80%.
The PWHT exhibited beneficial effect on the L.C.F. behaviour and increased the L.C.F. life about 120%. This enhancement by PWHT was attributed to the removal of residual stress and recovery of weld metal ductility.
The cyclic stress flow of the as welded specimens showed intermediate cyclic softening, whereas those of heat treated specimens showed continuous cyclic hardening, and this difference was explained in terms of the residual stress removal and dislocation behaviour.
Scanning electron microscopy studies of fatigue fracture surface showed that weld defects of large size and near weld surface were detrimental to the L.C.F. behaviour of weldment.
