EnginSoft - CAE Conference Abstracts

EnginSoft International Conference 2011
CAE Technologies for Industry

Experimental Validation of Finite Element Simulations to Predict Welding Induced Residual Stresses

Mollicone Pierluigi - University of Malta (Malta)

Abstract

Welding is an extremely important joining technique for many industries. Advantages such as speed and versatility are however compromised by unwanted aspects that accompany common metal welding processes. One of the unwanted aspects is the formation of residual stress fields, which arise due to the temperature loadings inherently present during this joining process. Residual stresses are a detrimental effect since they can lead to structural or assembly problems. Experimental determination of these effects is possible but often costly, especially in large-scale applications. Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) technologies, such as the application of Finite Element Analysis (FEA), are of interest for the prediction, analysis and assessment of these effects. In this context, however, the use of FEA is not straightforward. This is mainly due to the complex nature of the problem at hand. It follows that many decisions must be taken on the modelling technique to adopt in these scenarios.
This work presents a modelling technique for the prediction of welding induced residual stresses by revisiting earlier studies of two very common Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) set-ups (butt and fillet welded plates) and comparing the computational results to experimental measurements. The simulations, carried out in ANSYS, are aimed at using a general-purpose solver to predict residual stresses. The validation is done with experiments carried out using the hole drilling method for measuring residual stresses. Results show a good qualitative and quantitative match in simulated and experimentally measured values. These serve as a validation for the adopted modelling techniques.