Medium to high cycle fatigue investigation on hot dip galvanized structural steel welded joints

Abstract

Hot dip galvanization offers stable and lasting corrosion protection to steel structure, both acting as a barrier for external agents and inducing galvanic protection, through the deposition of a thin layer of zinc on the steel structure by submersion in a molten bath of the metal. Current standards for welded steel structures subjected to fatigue loads do not allow the use of the technique, while the cost for maintenance, repair or failure due to corrosion has an elevated worldwide impact. A series of hot dip galvanized structural steel welded specimens was tested with the aim of increasing the understanding of the damage and failure of a structure that has undergone such treatment. The goal is to define whether the use of hot dip galvanization poses a threat to structural safety and if this is eventually accountable for with the use of a certain corrective coefficient for the fatigue classes reported in the regulations. A revision of old fatigue data is here reported to critically discuss the new results presented.