Abstract
The study was aimed to clarify the shear strength and the normal strength properties of the lap joint. The welds were characterized with respect to hardness, tensile and fatigue properties. The test materials of this study were low strength carbon steel (LSS) and ultra high strength wear resistant steel (UHSS). The shear strength, perpendicular strength and fatigue resistance of the lap joint laser weld was determined by tensile and fatigue tests. The shear strength of the LSS weld was higher than the strength of the base material. The shear strength of UHSS weld was higher than the LSS weld. However, compared to strength of the base material of the UHSS the weld was weaker even though the weld was harder than the base material. The normal strength of the UHSS and LSS welds was over two times higher than the shear strength of the same welds