Welding residual stress determination and crack analysis in butt-welded thin-walled plate by finite-element method

Abstract

In this study, we calculate the welding residual stresses for a butt-welded thin-walled plate by carrying out threedimensional finite-element analyses. To study the effect of mechanical boundary conditions on the welding residual stresses, various boundary conditions are considered. The welding residual stresses obtained in the measurements and finite-element analyses are validated by comparing them with the welding residual stress profiles in the R6 code. The results of this study are used to analyze the influence of residual stress on the crack formation in thin-section weldments.