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Experimental and numerical investigations of fatigue and fracture performance of metal inert gas-welded Al-3.4 Mg aluminium alloy

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Abstract

This work presents the comparison of mechanical, fracture and fatigue crack growth behaviour of base material and metal inert gas (MIG)-welded joints of Al-3.4 Mg alloy. Fracture toughness (KIc, JIc) values are estimated for MIG-welded condition of alloy. The resistance offered against crack growth is also characterized by fatigue crack growth tests at 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 stress ratios (R). Test results depict a slight decrease in KIc, whereas substantial reduction in JIc values is noticed for the welded specimen as compared to base material. Fatigue crack growth tests reveal significant improvement in the fatigue life and minor reduction in fatigue threshold (ΔKth) for welded Al-3.4 Mg alloy relative to base material. Elasto-plastic crack growth simulations are performed for both conditions of alloy by extended finite element method (XFEM) by enriching the standard approximation through Heaviside and Asymptotic crack tip functions to trace instantaneous crack advancement. Fracture surface morphologies are captured by scanning electron microscope to investigate the failure mechanism of the alloy.

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Acknowledgements

MIG welding has been performed under the guidance of Mr. Somenath Ghosh from Indian Institute of Welding (IIW), Kolkata, and Mr. Prashant Kumar Padhi from Skill Development Institute (SDI), Bhubaneswar. Authors express special thanks to managing director and staff members of SDI, Bhubaneswar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Goa, Ponda, India

    Pankaj Kumar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Patna, Patna, India

    Akhilendra Singh

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  1. Pankaj Kumar
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Kumar, P., Singh, A. Experimental and numerical investigations of fatigue and fracture performance of metal inert gas-welded Al-3.4 Mg aluminium alloy. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 43, 438 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-021-03161-8

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