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

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.