The effects of welding conditions on the residual stress and distortion behaviors of the full and partial-penetration weld joints with thin steel plates in the use of the electron beam welding process have been studied. Residual stresses and angular distortion were measured, and the experimental results have been verified with the aid of the thermal elastic-plastic analysis by the finite element method. The experimental results of residual stress and angular distortion have been clarified to be similar to the analysis results. The residual stresses ( T and L ) in the transverse and longitudinal directions with respect to the weld line have been confirmed to be shifted to the compression side in the vicinity of the weld toe when the beam power was higher and the beam diameter was smaller. The magnitude of residual stresses at the weld toe has been found to be related to the penetration depth. It has also been revealed that angular distortion tends to increase as the beam power becomes higher.
The effect of metal types on the residual stresses has been researched through X-ray stress measurement for the electron-beam welding joints made of sheet metals with a thickness of approximately 10 mm. The finite-element method (FEM) has also been used to analyze the experimental results and verify the residual stress characteristics. Consequently, it has been revealed that the residual stress near the weld toe in the longitudinal direction along the weld axis becomes tensile to a larger extent as the yield strength of the testing material is higher. By contrast, in the transverse direction, the residual stress close to the weld toe has been found to be compressive to a higher degree as the yield strength of the testing material is bigger. These correlations can be observed not only for ferritic and martensitic steel materials but also for other types of metals such as austenitic stainless steel of SUS304 and aluminum alloy of A5052.KEY WORDS: electron beam weld; finite element method; residual stress; X-ray stress analysis; metal type.
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