1986 Volume 4 Issue 4 Pages 666-673
This paper deals with a non-destructive detection method of the generation time, the crack length and the propagation speed of fatigue crack in spot-welded joints under tensile-shear load.
In case of spot-welded joints, fatigue cracks generate usually at the neighborhood of nugget tips of the weld interface, and propagate toward outer surfaces of the sheets. Accordingly, it is very difficult to observe and measure the crack length, consequently the generation time and the propagation speed of crack by using conventional measuring devices.
Authors developed a non-destructive method of fatigue crack, which the generation time, the crack length and the propagation speed of fatigue crack can be quantitatively estimated by utilizing infomation obtained from the strain gages bonded on the electrode indentations of spot welds. Specimens used in this experiment are made of various kinds of thin steel sheets.
Main conclusions obtained in this study are as follows:
(1) The propagation length of fatigue crack is related with both mean strain and strain range of out-put of the strain gage, and the changing rate of strain range is specially useful for fatigue crack detection.
(2) The generation time and the propagation speed of fatigue crack can be estimated easily from relationship between the number of cycles and the crack length, which is established in advance for an individual test piece.
