Growth rate of fatigue cracks in fields of residual stresses in titanium welded joints with different content of embrittling impurities

Investigations were carried out into the fatigue crack growth resistance of welded joints in structural titanium alloys contaminated with embrittling impurities. The crack closure effect was taken into account so that it is possible to determine the effective stress intensity factor. The results show that the fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) depends strongly on the magnitude and direction of residual stresses. The dependence of the FCGR in welded joints and structural titanium alloys on the range of the effective stress intensity factor is invariant to the magnitude and direction of the residual welding stresses.