Research on ultra-high cycle fatigue property of 45 steel

Fatigue property of 45 steel was studied in this paper with the method of ultrasonic fatigue testing, and SEM was used to analyze microscopic characteristics of the fatigue fracture. Fatigue test results show that: S-N curves descend continuously after 10(8) cycles, there is no fatigue limit as the traditional fatigue conception describes. Therefore, it is very dangerous to design welded structure working in the ultra-high cycle interval with the fatigue strength corresponding to 5x10(6) cycles. In the super-long life range, the fatigue property of welded joints is worse than the base metal. SEM analysis shows that: fatigue crack mainly initiates from the defects in the surface or sub-surface.