An Efficient Modelling Approach for Predicting Residual Stress in Power-Beam Welds

The prediction of welding residual stress in components is often an important input to structural integrity assessments. An efficient modelling approach was developed for predicting residual stress in power-beam welds, including validation against residual stress measurements. Specifically, sequentially coupled thermo-mechanical finite element analysis was conducted using a simplified heat source that was tuned to the observed fusion zone from a weld macrograph and thermocouple data for a series of electron beam welds in 316L austenitic stainless steel with a variety of geometries. The predicted residual stresses were compared with contour method and neutron diffraction residual stress measurements.