FEM prediction of buckling distortion induced by welding in thin plate panel structures

Welding distortion generated during assembly process has a strongly nonlinear feature, which includes material nonlinearity, geometric nonlinearity, and contact nonlinearity. In order to obtain a precise prediction of welding distortion, these nonlinear phenomena should be carefully considered. In this study, firstly, a prediction method of welding distortion, which combines thermo-elastic-plastic finite element method (FEM) and large deformation elastic FEM based on inherent strain theory and interface element method, was developed. Secondly, the inherent deformations of two typical weld joints involved in a large thin plate panel structure were calculated using the thermo-elastic-plastic FEM and their characteristics were also examined. Thirdly, using the developed elastic FEM and the inherent deformations, the usefulness of the proposed elastic FEM was demonstrated through the prediction of welding distortion in the large thin plate panel structures. Finally, the influences of heat input, welding procedure, welding sequence, thickness of plate, and spacing between the stiffeners on buckling propensity were investigated. The numerical simulation method developed in this study not only can be used to predict welding distortion in manufacturing stage but also can be employed in design or planning stage.     

Application of welding simulation for chassis components within the development of manufacturing methods

In this article the application possibilities of welding simulation for chassis components within the development of manufacturing methods are discussed. The investigations focus on the simulation of the welding sequence and its effect on distortions. Comparisons of experimental and numerical results show good agreement. The characteristics of the welding distortions are fully reproduced by the simulation. A possible application of the welding simulation for chassis components is presented for the front axle carrier of the new BMW series 7. For more complex structures like the whole front axle carrier, a special methodology, namely the local/global approach, is applied.     

A comparative study on welding temperature fields,residual stress distributions and deformations induced by laser beam welding and CO2 gas arc welding

Welding-induced distortion in thin-plate structure is a serious problem which not only hinders the assembling process but also negatively affects the performance of product. Therefore, how to control welding deformation is a key issue both at design stage and at manufacturing stage. During welding process, there are a number of factors which can significantly affect manufacturing accuracy. Among these factors, the heat input is one of the largest contributors to the final deformation. Generally, when laser beam welding (LBW) is used to join parts the total heat input is far less than that used in a conventional welding method such as gas metal arc welding, so it is expected that LBW can significantly reduce welding distortion especially for thin-plate joints. As a fundamental research, we investigated the welding deformations in low carbon steel thin-plate joints induced by LBW and CO₂ gas arc welding by means of both numerical simulation technology and experimental method in the current study. Based on the experimental measurements and simulation results, we quantitatively compared the welding deformation as well as residual stress induced by LBW and those due to CO₂ gas arc welding. The results indicate that the out-of-plane deformation of thin-plate joint can be largely reduced if CO₂ gas arc welding method is replaced by LBW. Moreover, the numerical results indicate that the residual stresses induced by LBW are superior to those produced by CO₂ gas arc welding both in distribution and in magnitude.     

A finite element ductile failure simulation method using stress-modified fracture strain model

This paper proposes a new method to simulate ductile failure using finite element analysis based on the stress-modified fracture strain model. A procedure is given to determine the stress-modified fracture strain as a function of the stress triaxiality from smooth and notched bar tensile tests with FE analyses. For validation, simulated results using the proposed method are compared with experimental data for cracked bar (tensile and bend) tests, extracted from API X65 pipes, and for full-scale burst test of gouged pipes, showing overall good agreements. Advantages in the use of the proposed method for practical structural integrity assessment are discussed.     

An interface element for the simulation of delamination in unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite laminates

Unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite laminates are widely used in aerospace industry for a great variety of structural parts. In order to enhance the exploitation of material reserves, there is a need for the integration of progressive damage scenarios in the design phase. Due to their hazardous effects on the load-carrying capacity of composite structures, this work focusses on the simulation of delaminations. A finite element based on a cohesive zone approach is developed. Two constitutive laws are proposed. One is characterized by linear degradation after delamination onset, the other is governed by exponential softening response. The damage process is history-dependent leading to an irreversible stiffness degradation in damaged zones. The practicability of the proposed model and the assets and drawbacks of the two material laws are shown by some numerical examples.     

Single and double plate impact welding: Experimental and numerical simulation

This paper presents an experimental study and a numerical simulation of impact welding of single and double aluminium plates using a gas gun. The study shows the differences in the bonding quality of the two impacting flyer plates. In general the bonded area between the two flyer plates is less than that between the leading flyer and the target. The simulations show that the back surface of the leading plate flyer exhibits an increase in roughness after impacting onto the target. The numerical modelling in agreement with the experiment shows that the contact surface between two flyers at the time of the contact is not flat.     

Numerical simulation on interaction between TIG welding arc and weld pool

The interface deformation between welding arc and weld pool is important in dynamic coupling numerical simulation on arc and pool. To reveal the interaction between welding arc and weld pool, unified mathematic model of TIG welding arc and pool was established in this paper. The moving interface was solved by updating the calculation region of arc and weld pool continually. Fluid flow and heat transfer of TIG welding arc and weld pool were analyzed basing on this model. The weld pool shape calculated by dynamic coupling welding arc and pool is more close to the experiment than that of non coupling calculation.     

A new method of calibrating strain release coefficients in measuring welding stresses

The measured values of welding residual stresses often exceed material yield strength (σ_y) or tensile strength (σ_t), in measuring welding residual stresses in the welded joints of low carbon steel or stainless steel by drilling a blind hole. It is quite evident that measured values do not represent reality. Local plastic strain caused by residual stress concentrations round the blind hole has a main effect on the measuring error of welding residual stresses. This article presents a new method of calibrating strain coefficients A and B for eliminating influence of local plastic strain. In calibrating strain release coefficients A and B, calibrating stresses applied on the specimen were increased so that material round the blind hole produced local plastic deformation, ie coefficients A and B contained a component of the plastic strain. Numerial values of coefficients A and B were classified into four grades. Every grade coefficient contained a different quantity of the plastic strain for offseting the influence of the plastic strain round the blind hole. Test results have proved that by adopting these coefficients more satisfactory values for residual stresses can be obtained in practical engineering. The measuring average error in stainless steel (1Cr18Ni9Ti) reduces from 109% to 1.52%. The measuring average error in low carbon steel reduces from 54.69% to 3.21%.     

Influences of heat source model on welding residual stress and distortion in a multi-pass J-groove joint

Welding mechanical behaviors including residual stress and distortion are highly non-linear phenomena in nature. When numerical simulation methods such as thermal elastic plastic finite element method (FEM) are used to quantitatively predict welding residual stress and distortion, a long computational time is required especially for multi-pass joints. In real engineering structures, many weldments have large dimensions and complex shapes, and they are usually assembled by a multi-pass welding process. Therefore, it is necessary to develop time-effective computational approaches for practice engineering analysis. In this study, a method based on variable length heat sources was proposed for the analysis of thermo-mechanical behaviors for multi-pass joints. The welding residual stress field in a dissimilar metal J-groove joint with axis-symmetric geometrical shape, which was performed by a semi-circle balanced welding process, was investigated using the proposed method. The simulation results were compared with the measured data as well as the simulation results computed by a moving heat source. Meanwhile, the instantaneous line heat source was also employed to estimate the welding residual stresses in the same joint in an extreme case. The influences of heat source model (type) on welding residual stress and distortion were discussed.     

Investigations on welding residual stresses in penetration nozzles by means of 3D thermal elastic plastic FEM and experiment

Recent discoveries of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in weldments including penetration nozzles at pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs) have raised concerns about safety and integrity of plant components. It is well known that welding residual stress is an important factor resulting in SCC in weldments. In the present work, both experimental method and numerical simulation technology are used to investigate the characteristics of welding residual stress distribution in penetration nozzles welded by multi-pass J-groove joint. An experimental mock-up is fabricated to measure welding residual stress at first. In the experiment, each weld pass is performed using a semi-circle balanced welding procedure. Then, a corresponding finite element models with considering moving heat source, deposition sequence, inter-pass temperature, temperature-dependent thermal and mechanical properties, strain hardening and annealing effect is developed to simulate welding temperature and residual stress fields. The simulation results predicted by the 3D model are generally in good agreement with the measurements. Meanwhile, to clarify the influence of deposition sequence on the welding residual stress, the welding residual stress field in the same geometrical model induced by a continuous welding procedure is also calculated. Finally, the influence of a joint oblique angle on welding residual stress is investigated numerically. The numerical results suggest that both deposition sequence and oblique angles have effect on welding residual stress distribution.     

Discussion and calculation on welding residual longitudinal stress and plastic strain by finite element method

In recent years, some researchers have put forward the new viewpoint that the weld is merely formed during the cooling process, not concerned with the heating process. According to this view, it can be concluded that it is not the compressive but the tensile plastic strain that may remain in the weld. To analyze the formation mechanism of the longitudinal residual stress and plastic strain, finite element method (FEM) is employed in this paper to model the welding longitudinal residual stress and plastic strain. The calculation results show that both the residual compressive plastic strain and the tensile stress in the longitudinal direction can be found in the weld.     

Modification of the quadratic 10‐node tetrahedron for thin structures and stiff materials under large‐strain hyperelastic deformation

The concept of energy‐sampling stabilization is used to develop a mean‐strain quadratic 10‐node tetrahedral element for the solution of geometrically nonlinear solid mechanics problems. The development parallels recent developments of a “composite” uniform‐strain 10‐node tetrahedron for applications to linear elasticity and nonlinear deformation. The technique relies on stabilization by energy sampling with a mean‐strain quadrature and proposes to choose the stabilization parameters as a quasi‐optimal solution to a set of linear elastic benchmark problems. The accuracy and convergence characteristics of the present formulation are tested on linear and nonlinear benchmarks and compare favorably with the capabilities of other mean‐strain and high‐performance tetrahedral and hexahedral elements for solids, thin‐walled structures (shells), and nearly incompressible structures.     

Finite element analysis of interface delamination and buckling in thin film systems by wedge indentation

A finite element method is used to study the interface delamination and buckling of thin film systems subject to microwedge indentation. In the formulation, the interface adjoining the thin film and substrate is assumed to be the only site where cracking may occur. Both the thin film and the substrate are taken to be ductile materials with finite deformation. A traction-separation law, with two major parameters: interface strength and interface energy, is introduced to simulate the adhesive and failure behaviors of the interface between the film and the substrate. The effects of the interface adhesive properties and the thickness of the thin film on the onset and growth of interface delamination and the film buckling are investigated.     

Atomistic and mesoscale interface simulation of graphite nanosheet/AgCl/polypyrrole composite

Interfaces of graphite nanosheet/AgCl/Polypyrrole (NanoG/AgCl/PPy) composite have been researched by atomistic and mesoscale simulations. The results showed that the three-component nanocomposites were formed on the basis of van der Waals interfacial interactions between two components (except between NanoG and AgCl). PPy played a key role of adhesive, which combine with NanoG and AgCl separately through strong advantaged interfaces. So the three-components could form nanocomposite as a whole in mesoscale. Quantitative analysis of density and potential distributions of NanoG/AgCl/PPy composites showed that they had proper potential interfaces and uniform distribution. The NanoG well dispersed in PPy matrix, and the matrix was decorated by core–shell nanoparticles with AgCl as the core and PPy as the conducting shell.     

影响金属薄膜沉积初期因素的有限单元法模拟

利用有限单元法对影响金属薄膜沉积初期的因素进行了计算机模拟.按膜料为Pt、Pt-Ru、Pt-Ti、Pt-Ni、Pt-Al等五种模式,采用刚性球入射到C或Si基底,重点研究了沉积原子的半径差异比、沉积原子能量和原子入射角等参数对薄膜沉积的影响,同时检验了有限元方法在微观领域中的合理性和适用性.     

Research on deformation characteristics of JCOE forming in large diameter welding pipe

In the present work, the JCOE forming is investigated using the finite element (FE) method. A twodimensional FE model is established for the plane strain condition by FE code ABAQUS, and the FE model is validated by experiments. The aim of this research is to investigate forming quality states in the JCOE forming process; in particular, the effects of technological parameters on forming quality are evaluated. Taking the JCOE forming process of X80 steel φ1 219 mm×22 mm×12 000 mm welding pipe for instance, the deformation characteristics of JCOE forming are analyzed, in which the geometry of the formed pipe, residual stress distributions and effects of process parameters on JCOE forming quality can be obtained. Thus, the presented results of this research provide an effective approach to improve welding pipe forming quality.     

Robust C0 high-order plate finite element for thin to very thick structures: mechanical and thermo-mechanical analysis

This paper presents a new C⁰ eight-node quadrilateral finite element (FE) for geometrically linear elastic plates. This finite element aims at modeling both thin and thick plates without any pathologies of the classical plate finite elements (shear and Poisson or thickness locking, spurious modes, etc). A C¹ FE was previously developed by the first author based on the kinematics proposed by Touratier. This new FE can be viewed as an evolution towards three directions: (1) use of only C⁰ FE approximations; (2) modeling of thick to thin structures; and (3) capability in multifield problems. The transverse normal stress is included allowing use of the three-dimensional constitutive law. The element performances are evaluated on some standard plate tests, and comparisons are given with exact three-dimensional solutions for plates under mechanical and thermal loads. Comparisons are made with other plate models using C¹ and semi-C¹ FE approximations as well as with an eight node C⁰ FE based on the Reissner–Mindlin model. All results indicate that the present element is highly insensitive to mesh distortion, has very fast convergence properties and gives accurate results for displacements and stresses. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling of the material flow of Nd-Fe-B magnets under high temperature deformation via finite element simulation method

Abstract

Hot deformation of Nd-Fe-B magnets has been studied for more than three decades. With a good combination of forming processing parameters, the remanence and (BH)_max values of Nd-Fe-B magnets could be greatly increased due to the formation of anisotropic microstructures during hot deformation. In this work, a methodology is proposed for visualizing the material flow in hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets via finite element simulation. Material flow in hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets could be predicted by simulation, which fitted with experimental results. By utilizing this methodology, the correlation between strain distribution and magnetic properties enhancement could be better understood.     

金属薄膜缺陷及生长模式的有限元模拟

为了从微观领域研究金属薄膜缺陷的形成和薄膜的初期生长模式,利用有限元法对金属薄膜沉积过程中的缺陷和生长模式进行了计算机模拟.以Pt原子为膜料粒子,采用刚性球入射到石墨基底,重点研究了在基底上形成的缺陷结果表明,在薄膜生长初期会形成"树桩"小岛,而当碳基底上沉积铂原子的能量值达到75 eV时,就有可能发生随机原子注入."树桩"小岛的形成使薄膜生长多为岛状生长机制,同时检验了有限元方法在微观领域中的合理性和适用性.     

Numerical simulation of stress and deformation in a railway crossing

Stress/strain analysis is the key to understanding and predicting wear and fatigue behavior of a crossing. By taking into account non-linear material properties, a three dimensional elastic–plastic finite element model, which is composed of wheel, crossing and ties, is presented for the simulation of stress/deformation in a railway crossing. The influences of dynamic wheel load and wheel–crossing contact are examined. Stress, plastic strain and vertical displacement of the simulated crossing under dynamic wheel load at different wheel–crossing contact positions are investigated. The maximum vertical displacement occurs at the wheel–crossing contact region, and decreases gradually from the wheel–crossing contact region to the toe-end and heel-end of the crossing. The maximum von Mises stress and maximum equivalent plastic strain in the crossing increase remarkably with the increase of the train speed. The maximum vertical displacement in the crossing increases obviously and varies linear approximately with the train speed. The maximum von Mises stress, maximum vertical displacement and maximum equivalent plastic strain in the crossing are very sensitive to the axle load and are linear approximately with the axle load.