Residual stresses in flux cored arc welding process in bead-on-plate specimens

This paper reports the simulation results of 3D finite element analysis (FEA) of flux cored arc welding (FCAW) process in a single bead-on-plate weld and predicts the temperature distribution and residual stresses. The FCAW process was simulated using a nonlinear heat transfer analysis on the software Sysweld using the double ellipsoidal heat source model and a coupled transient thermo-mechanical analysis. Part of the experimental work was carried out before the FE modeling in order to obtain current, voltage, traverse speed and Gaussian parameters of the weld pool, which measure the bead geometry dimensions such as width, height, depth of penetration and size of the HAZ. The other part of the experimental work verified the results produced by the FEA in two steps - first, comparing the FEA thermal results with corresponding values measured using K-type thermocouples; and second, comparing the residual stresses in the FE model against those measured by the RS hole-drilling method. The FEA results showed good agreement with the experimental measurements and it is concluded that this model can be used as a future benchmark to calibrate larger scale weld repairs. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.