Study on Multi-Factor Coupling Fatigue Properties of Weathering Steel Welded Specimens

Song, Shuailong; Qin, Guangchong; Lan, Tao; Li, Zexu; Xing, Guangjie; Liu, Yanchen

doi:10.3390/ma18194551

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.

Open AccessArticle

Study on Multi-Factor Coupling Fatigue Properties of Weathering Steel Welded Specimens

by

Shuailong Song

^1,2,

Guangchong Qin

²,

Tao Lan

^2,*

,

Zexu Li

²,

Guangjie Xing

³ and

Yanchen Liu

^1,2

¹

School of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, 777 Jialingjiang East Road, Huangdao District, Qingdao 266520, China

²

CSSC International Engineering Co., Ltd., 1 North Courtyard, Shuangqiao Middle Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100121, China

³

School of Civil Engineering, Xian University of Architecture & Technology, No. 13 Yanta Road, Beilin District, Xi’an 710055, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Materials 2025, 18(19), 4551; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18194551

Submission received: 19 August 2025 / Revised: 21 September 2025 / Accepted: 26 September 2025 / Published: 30 September 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Stainless Steel—from Making, Shaping, Treating to Products)

Download Versions Notes

Abstract

Environmental factors significantly affect the fatigue performance of weathering steel welded components in high-altitude, low-temperature corrosive environments. This study conducted multi-factor-coupled constant-amplitude fatigue tests on Q500qENH weathering steel V-groove welded joints and built an equivalent finite element model using test data to explore key influencing factors under multi-condition coupling. Results show that stress level most significantly affects fatigue performance, followed by corrosion duration, then ambient temperature, with influences decreasing in turn. Analyzing 18-day cyclic immersion corrosion morphology predicts 21-year outdoor corrosion in plateau regions, providing a reliable method for long-term exposure prediction. Finite element simulations confirm that low temperatures improve slightly corroded specimens’ fatigue performance by 20%, but damage accumulates before optimal service. This study offers key parameters for safe design of high-altitude weathering steel welded components.

Keywords: Q500qENH weathering steel; high-altitude low-temperature corrosion; fatigue test; crack propagation; fatigue life degradation mechanisms; scanning electron microscopy

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Song, S.; Qin, G.; Lan, T.; Li, Z.; Xing, G.; Liu, Y. Study on Multi-Factor Coupling Fatigue Properties of Weathering Steel Welded Specimens. Materials 2025, 18, 4551. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18194551

AMA Style

Song S, Qin G, Lan T, Li Z, Xing G, Liu Y. Study on Multi-Factor Coupling Fatigue Properties of Weathering Steel Welded Specimens. Materials. 2025; 18(19):4551. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18194551

Chicago/Turabian Style

Song, Shuailong, Guangchong Qin, Tao Lan, Zexu Li, Guangjie Xing, and Yanchen Liu. 2025. "Study on Multi-Factor Coupling Fatigue Properties of Weathering Steel Welded Specimens" Materials 18, no. 19: 4551. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18194551

APA Style

Song, S., Qin, G., Lan, T., Li, Z., Xing, G., & Liu, Y. (2025). Study on Multi-Factor Coupling Fatigue Properties of Weathering Steel Welded Specimens. Materials, 18(19), 4551. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18194551

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Study on Multi-Factor Coupling Fatigue Properties of Weathering Steel Welded Specimens

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI