Study of electron beam welding residual stresses for aluminum 99.60

Abstract

Based on measurement and simulation method, this paper studies the effects residual stresses of electron beam welding joints for pure aluminum plate 99.60. The residual stresses were measure by the keyhole method. Moreover, using thermal elastic - plastic theory, and the nonlinear finite element theory, a three - dimensional finite element model using mobile heat source of temperature and stresses field of electron beam welding in pure aluminum is established. The residual stresses distribution of pure aluminum plate in vacuum electron beam welding joint was numerically simulated. The results show that the main residual stress is the longitudinal residual stress, the value of the longitudinal residual stress is much larger than the transverse residual stress. The longitudinal residual stress is tension stress along weld center and the stress peak value appears in the middle of the welded seam; the transversal residual stress is compression stress; the residua l stress in thickness direction is very small. And in the weld center, the maximum value of residual tension stresses is lower than its yield strength. The simulation results about the welded residual stresses are almost identical with the experimental results by measuring. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.