Analysis of Residual Stresses and Distortions in Girth-Welded Carbon Steel Pipe

Abstract

This article, the weld joint suffers various types of weld-induced residual stress fields (hoop and axial) and deformation patterns (axial shrinkage, radial shrinkage). In this paper Three-dimensional finite element modeling of residual stresses in a girth-welded carbon steel pipe is presented with an emphasis on modeling procedures for the global residual stress characteristics. To precisely capture the distortions and residual stresses, computational methodology based on three-dimensional finite element model for the simulation of gas tungsten arc welding in thin-walled pipe is presented. Butt-weld geometry with single "V" for a 300 mm outer diameter cylinder of 3 mm thick is used. The complex phenomenon of arc welding is numerically solved by sequentially coupled transient, non-linear thermo-mechanical analysis. The accuracy of both the thermal and structural models is validated through experiments for temperature distribution, residual stresses and distortion. The simulated result shows close correlation with the experimental measurements.