Numerical and experimental thermal stress analyses of dissimilar GTA welded joints

In this work, temperature profiles and residual stresses were measured experimentally for validating the predicted temperature gradients and thermal stresses developed in dissimilar gas tungsten arc weldments of AA 6082 and AA 7075. The temperature dependent thermo-mechanical properties were considered along with convective and radiation boundary conditions during analysis. SOLID 90 and SOLID 185 elements are chosen for analysis in this research. The predicted thermal fields and stresses were validated experimentally using Infra-Red (IR) Thermography and X-Ray diffraction techniques. The peak temperature is recorded in pass-3 when compared to remaining passes and the lower temperature was recorded near the AA7075 heat affected zone. The predicted thermal fields from finite element analysis are in accordance with measured thermal fields using IR thermography with the deviation of 7.5% only.