The influence of welding parameters and welding rehabilitation techniques on the static loads resistance

It is well known and widely debated in the world literature the issue of improving the fatigue life of welded structures by applying "welding toe grinding" and "WIG remelting welding toe" rehabilitation techniques. With the aid of these techniques, we practically on the one hand decrease the stress concentrators from the intersection between the base material and the filler material, and on the other hand we obtain an increased fatigue life. At the same time, the welded structures and in particular the bridges in the welded construction are subjected to the variable loads that generate the fatigue phenomenon but also to the static loads, to which it have to satisfy some certain resistance conditions. In this regard, the present paper aims is to study the influence of the welding regime and of those two welding rehabilitation techniques "weld toe grinding" and "WIG remelting welding toe" on macrostructure, micro-hardness and static tensile test resistance. The above-mentioned influences will be studied in the case of cruciform welded samples, welded by the shielded gas welding process in a vertical position. It was chosen to study the cruciform fillet weld, because on the one hand this is the most common welded joint, and on the other hand it is one of the most susceptible to cracks and failures. (paper)