3-D Finite Element Simulation of Welding Residual Stresses in Pipe-Flange Joints: Effect of Welding Parameters

This paper presents results of detailed three-dimensional finite element simulation of residual stress distribution in welded Pipe-Flange Joints with emphasis on the effect of welding parameters and geometrical size of the model. Single-pass Metal Inert Gas welding with single “V” Butt-weld geometry is used in the study. The effect of two basic welding parameters including welding current and speed and two geometrical parameters i.e. pipe diameter and wall-thickness are examined. For both welding current and welding speed, three sets of parameters comprising of low, medium and high values are used. To analyze the effect of each parameter explicitly only one parameter is changed at one time. In most of the cases 100 mm nominal pipe diameter is used. A FE Model for 200 mm nominal pipe diameter is also analyzed to determine the effect of pipe diameter.