Fatigue assessment on 7075/2A12 aluminum alloy friction stir welding lap joints

Constant amplitude loading fatigue tests were carried out for 7075/2A12 dissimilar aluminum alloy friction stir welding (FSW) lap joints, and the fatigue fracture characteristics were observed accordingly. Experimental observation suggested that the effective lap sheet thickness had a salient effect on the fatigue strength of the specimen. Specimens tend to fail at the lower sheet thickness under low relatively loading, while fail at the hook root at higher loading. There exists a competition between the two failure cases, and the fracture site changes with loading levels. The stress/strain at the periphery of the weld nugget were discerned by elastic and elasto–plastic finite element analyses respectively, which were then utilized to evaluate the fatigue life by local life prediction approaches and notch stress methods. Two widely used local stress approaches, the Morrow’s modified Manson-Coffin (MMC) damage model and the Smith-Watson-Topper (SWT) damage model both could give reasonable results relatively close to experimental lives within the low cycle life regime. The notch stress method could give relatively closer life in the high cycle life regime.