New Developed Welding Electrode for Improving the Fatigue Strength of Welded Joints

A new welding electrode, low transformation temperatur e electrode (LTTE), was introduced in this paper. It was described in design principle, mechanics, chemical compositions of their deposited metal and manufacturing methods.It was proved that the best transformation starting temperature from austenite to martensite of the deposited metal of LTTE was at about 191℃ and it was obtained by adding alloying elements such as Cr, Ni, Mn and Mo. The microstructure of the weld metal of the LTTE was low carbon martensite and residual austenite. The compressive residual stress was induced around the weld of the LTTE and the -145 MPa in compression could be obtained in middle of weld metal. The fatigue tests showed that the fatigue strength of the longitudinal welded joints welded with the LTTE at 2×106 cycles was improved by 59% compared with that of the same type of welded joints welded with conventional E5015 and the fatigue life was increased by 47 times at 162 MPa. It is a very valuable method to improve the fatigue performance of welded joints.