Open Access

ARTICLE

Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Welding Deformation in Thin Plates

by

1 University of Tabriz, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, 51666, Tabriz, Iran

Computers, Materials & Continua 2010, 16(3), 195-228. https://doi.org/10.3970/cmc.2010.016.195

Abstract

The use of welding to permanently join plates is common in industry due to its high efficiency. But welding creates thermal stresses, which can lead to residual stresses and physical distortion. This phenomenon directly influences the buckling stiffness of the welded structure. The welding distortion not only makes difficult the erection of the project, but also influences the final quality and cost of production. In this research, the thermo-elastic-plastic conditions were simulated by a three-dimensional (3D) finite element model (FE). Mechanical and thermal properties of the material were applied to the model, leading to eigenvalue analysis of the thermal and longitudinal stress distribution, buckling during welding and global. The research was performed on thin plates welded by butt joints and T-joints. A birth and death method depending on time was also used to model the molten pool. Since welding is a thermo-mechanical process, a coupling method was used to obtain results for nonlinear transient thermal analysis and introduce them in the structure analysis in order to investigate the buckling phenomenon. A comparison of our numerical results with those obtained from our experiments showed that the models can help predict when and where local buckling can occur. This method can also help predict the heat distribution and deformation during and after welding.

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