Influence of welding groove on residual stress and distortion in T-joint weld

Abstract

Abstract T-joint welding is the most common type used in heavy equipment industry. Localized heating and subsequent cooling induce residual stress in the weld process. Service loading overlapped with residual stress influences the strength of the welded structure and leads to premature failure of structure. In this study, finite element analysis is used to study the influence of welding groove on residual stress and distortion in T-joint welding. The simulation consists of sequentially coupled thermal and elastic-plastic analysis using an element birth and death method to model the addition of weld metal to the workpiece. The results of numerical simulation are verified by comparing with experiment from published literature. The results show that welding groove has a significant influence on welding residual stress.