Prediction and numerical simulation of residual stress in multi-pass pipe welds

Abstract

A numerical simulation procedure is presented to predict residual stress states in multi-pass welds in oil transportation pipes. In this paper, a two-dimensional thermo-mechanical finite element model is used to calculate the temperature distribution, hardness, and the distribution of residual stresses during multi-pass welding of pipes of dissimilar metals and varying thicknesses. In this model, the temperature dependence of the thermal and mechanical properties of the material was considered. The present model was validated using the hardness measurement. Good agreement was found between the measurement and the numerical simulation results. The simulated result shows that the two-dimensional model can be effectively used to simulate the hardness test and predict the residual stress in the pipe weld. The simulation results and measurements suggest that the model with moving heat source can obtain a good prediction of residual welding stress. Both the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional modeling can be used to estimate the residual stresses in different weld regions and help saving time.