Analysis and simplified model calculation of residual stress in U-rib welding of steel bridge deck

This article examines residual stress generation in U-ribbed steel bridge deck during welding, focusing on post-welding changes in the base material’s residual stress pattern. A thermo-elasto-plastic finite element analysis model was established to conduct numerical simulations of the welding process, summarizing the residual stress changes near the weld seam, the conclusion was drawn that the tensile and compressive forms of transverse residual stress on the upper and lower surfaces of the base plate were inconsistent. To validate the proposed numerical simulation method’s accuracy, the blind hole method was employed to measure welding-induced residual stress, and finite element analysis calculated calibration coefficients A and B, demonstrating the method’s effectiveness. Comparison of experimental measurements with numerical simulation outcomes validate the finite element simulation method’s accuracy and the adopted methodology’s feasibility. Based on these findings, a piecewise linear fitting approach was adopted to develop a simplified model of welding residual stress. The simplified model provides the initial conditions of residual stress for mechanical calculation of U-rib of the same type.