Fatigue tests of S690 as-welded and HFMI-treated details with longitudinal and transverse attachments

The complex nature of the fatigue strength of welded steel details, which is influenced by a multitude of factors, can be improved by extending the crack initiation phase of the total fatigue life. This enhancement can be achieved through the use of the High-Frequency Mechanical Impact (HFMI) method. This study discusses the fabrication and laboratory cyclic testing of as-welded and HFMI-treated transversal and longitudinal attachments made from S690QL steel. Assessment of a two-stage model (TSM) for the evaluation of their fatigue life, previously developed by the authors, is also performed. The TSM's estimated fatigue lives of the details under consideration align well with the fatigue test results. Moreover, both the TSM model results and the corresponding fatigue test results demonstrate that the HFMI method significantly prolongs their fatigue life. The fatigue resistance of HFMI-treated details compared to as-welded details increased by 1.67 and 1.91 times for longitudinal and transversal attachments, respectively. •Fabrication and cyclic tests of AW and HFMI treated S690QL steel details.•Application of the previously developed Two-Stage model for the fatigue life assessment.•Fatigue lives estimated with the Two-Stage model align well with the experimental results.•HFMI treatment significantly extends the fatigue life of S690QL steel details.