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In order to ensure high weld qualities and structural integrity of engineering structures, it is crucial to detect areas of high stress concentrations along weld seams. Traditional inspection methods rely on visual inspection and manual weld geometry measurements. Recent advances in the field of automated measurement techniques allow virtually unrestricted numbers of inspections by laser measurements of weld profiles; however, in order to compare weld qualities of different welding processes and manufacturers, a deeper understanding of statistical distributions of stress concentrations along weld seams is required. Hence, this study presents an approach to statistically characterize different types of butt joint weld seams. For this purpose, an artificial neural network is created from 945 finite element simulations to determine stress concentration factors at butt joints. Besides higher quality of predictions compared to empirical estimation functions, the new approach can directly be applied to all types welded structures, including arc- and laser-welded butt joints, and coupled with all types of 3D-measurement devices. Furthermore, sheet thickness ranging from 1 mm to 100 mm can be assessed.

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Deep rolling is an industrially widely established mechanical surface treatment process for the modification of roughness and fatigue resistance. However, the process has not been considered as a potential method for the mechanical post welded treatment of welded joints yet. Even, the potential of deep rolling for increasing the fatigue strength is comparably well-known in the case of non-welded components. Therefore, the effect of deep rolling (hydrostatic mounted tool) and diamond burnishing (mechanical mounted tool) to increase the fatigue strength of butt joints was approved in this work for aluminium alloy AlMg4,5Mn0,7 (EN AW 5083). For this purpose, fatigue tests under full tensile loading were performed in as-welded and deep rolled, burnished and ultrasonic impact treated conditions. Different residual stress states as well as work hardening states are determined in deep rolled and burnished condition. However, similar and significant fatigue life improvement was determined for both processes.