This paper deals with a crack propagation analysis of welded structures and rehabilitation after pre-fatigue loading by the high-frequency mechanical impact (HFMI) post-treatment technique. The investigated specimen type is a thin-walled longitudinal stiffener made of mild steel S355. Fracture mechanical calculations are primarily performed on the basis of the weight-function approach. Thereby, the local residual stress condition at the weld toe is considered by the aid of a structural weld simulation, whereas the numerically evaluated residual stress distribution in depth agrees well to X-ray measurement results. The fracture mechanical analysis illustrates that by incorporating the residual stress state, the calculated lifetime is in good accordance to the conducted fatigue test results. By application of the HFMI-treatment as rehabilitation method, it is found that the beneficial post-treatment effect increases especially by a reduction of the applied load-level. Hence, particularly for minor nominal stress ranges near the high-cycle fatigue region, the mechanical post-treatment as repair method is utmost effective leading to almost equal fatigue strength as for the HFMI-treated specimens without pre-cycling. Finally, proposals for the crack growth assessment of welded structures and a conservative application of HFMI as rehabilitation method for mild steel joints are provided.

This fundamental research presents an investigation of Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process on distortion and residual stress using numerical simulation. Further, WAAM geometry was modeled using simplified rectangular bead shape with five layers and three strings. The thermo-mechanical numerical simulation is conducted under consideration of non-linear isotropic hardening modeled by using general purposed FEM software MSC Marc/Mentat. In this simulation, different heat source models (Goldak’s double-ellipsoid and rectangular) are implemented and compared, whereby the later model was to be developed by using subroutine provided in the software. For analyzing the residual stress, separation technique between wall and substrate was introduced after the cooling down period. The outcome of this research is to develop an effective procedure to analyze the distortion and residual stress of wire arc additive manufacturing of stainless steel.