2.5.

Mechanical properties of welded joints

High density energy beam welds have specific characteristics such as single pass
welding, a narrow molten zone and the absence of filler wire. These characteristics
will have an influence on the traditional mechanical properties.
With regard to the tensile test, the transverse rupture of tensile specimens
generally occurs in the base metal. Only austenitic steels present a rupture close to
the fusion line but at a breaking load very close to that of the base material. For
materials with structural hardening, the rupture occurs in the molten zone. The
tensile tests in the longitudinal direction are not carried out because of the difficulty
in taking a test piece due to the narrowness of the molten zone.

Bend tests lead to good results. It should however be noted that in welds carried
out on alloyed steels, the hardness difference observed in the weld area causes a
deformation during the transverse bending test on either side of the molten zone.
Longitudinal bend testing is thus more useful since it forces all the zones to deform
in the same manner.
For the impact test, a crack deviation and the absence of rupture is often
observed in the test sample.
This then raises the problem of the tests validity. Palliative solutions have been
developed to try to evaluate the strength of these welds. Currently there is no