Evaluation of through thickness residual stress in multipass butt welded joint by using inherent strain

Abstract

The through thickness residual stress of an eight pass butt welded plate joint is evaluated using inherent strain analysis. The residual stress distribution is obtained in detail along the thickness direction from measurements using multiple strain gauges. The residual stresses agree with the results of the thermal elastic–plastic analysis as well as the values obtained by direct measurement of the specimen surface, which is not used in inherent strain analysis. These results indicate that both inherent strain analysis and thermal elastic–plastic analysis are effective in evaluating through thickness residual stress. Therefore, each analysis method should be chosen after considering the object to be evaluated and the characteristics to be analysed.