A literature survey was conducted to determine the information currently available on the fatigue behavior of aluminum alloy weldments. The survey included reviews of published papers and reports, as well as numerous unpublished reports furnished by a number of aluminum companies. Of the nearly 300 papers and reports reviewed, only about 80 were found to contain information pertinent to this investigation. About 40 reports had quantitative data, of which many were unpublished company reports. Over 400 test series and about 5000 individual tests have been reported.

The majority of the data available was from studies of 5000 series alloys (or foreign alloys equivalent to this series) with significant information on 6000 and 7000 series alloys. Only very limited data are available on 2000 and 3000 series alloys. Using computer programs developed for this study, statistical analyses were made of all data to determine the factors affecting fatigue behavior.

A brief summary of the methods of fatigue testing and analysis of the factors affecting fatigue strength of welded joints is presented. The fatigue behavior of butt-welded joints and fillet-welded joints is discussed and recommendations for future research are given. A detailed bibliography has been developed and an appendix with a detailed data summary of the test information reviewed is included.