Influences of size and position of defects on the fatigue life of electron beam welded-aluminum alloy joints

Defects such as pores influence the fatigue life of electron beam-welded aluminum alloy joints. In this paper, the influences of pore size and position on the fatigue life of aluminum overlap joint are studied. A finite element model (FEM), combined with experimental data, is established to evaluate the fatigue life of overlap joints. By employing this FE model, the effects of pore size and position on fatigue lives of overlap joints are investigated and discussed. From the present study, when pore position is closer to the weld bead tip or the faying surface, the fatigue life decreases. Also, there is a critical size for the pore; when the pore size is larger than the critical value, the fatigue strength decreases sharply.