Finite element simulation of arc welding distortion and correction in thin sidepanel sheets of a railway coach

Abstract

Manual metal arc welding of the thin sheet sidepanel subassemblies of a railway coach shell causes deformation on the exterior surface. Welding creates residual stresses and distortions because of the elastoplastic response of the sheet to the transient, localized thermal expansion and contraction. Various strategies minimize the distortion, but a basic understanding of the mechanism is required. The welding process has been mathematically modelled using a general-purpose finite element code ABAQUS. The transient temperature fields and the associated stress, strain and strain fields have been calculated by a coupled thermomechanical analysis. To improve the exterior appearance of the coach shell, a technique called the magnetic forming process has been proposed. This process is designed to restore the original geometry of the deformed sidepanel sheet. The effectiveness of this process has been studied in detail. The magnetic forming process, simulated to flatten and straighten the thin sheet, is calculated to yield good results.

Keywords

finite element welding transient heat transfer thermomechanical analysis

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Argyris

J. H.

Szimmat

William

K. J.

Finite element analysis of arc-welding processes In Numerical Methods in Heat Transfer III (Eds Lewis

R. W.

Morgan

), 1985, pp. 1–34 (John Wiley, New York).

Clark

J. N.

Manual metal arc weld modelling: Part I. Effect of process parameters on dimensions of weld bead and heat affected zone

Mater. Sci. Technol., 1985, 1, 1069–1080.

Mahin

K. W.

Shapiro

A. B.

Hallquist

Assessment of boundary condition limitations on the development of a general computer model for fusion welding. In Proceedings of International Conference on

Trends in Welding Research, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, 1986.

Ravichandran

Raghupathy

V. P.

Ganesan

Kumar

Krishna R.

Prediction of temperature distribution during circumferential welding of thin pipes using finite element method

Int. J. Joining Mater., 1995, 7, 34–44.

Ravichandran

Raghupathy

V. P.

Ganesan

Analysis of temperature distribution during circumferential welding of cylindrical and spherical components using the finite element method

Computers and Struct., 1996, 59, 225–255.

Jonsson

Karlsson

Lindgren

L. E.

Deformations and stresses in butt-welding of large plates In Numerical Methods in Heat Transfer III (Eds Lewis

R. W.

Morgan

), 1985, pp. 35–58 (John Wiley, Chichester).

Tekriwal

Mazumder

Finite element analysis of three-dimensional transient heat transfer in GMA welding

Weld. J., 1988, 67, 150–156.

Brown

S. B.

Song

Implications of three-dimensional numerical simulations of welding of large structures

Weld. J., 1992, 55–62.

Chidiac

S. E.

Mirza

F. A.

Thermal stress analysis due to welding processes by the finite element method

Computers and Struct., 1993, 46, 407–412.

10.

Canas

Picon

Paris

Blazquez

Marin

J. C.

A simplified numerical analysis of residual stresses in aluminium welded plates

Computers and Struct., 1995, 58, 59–69.

11.

Wang

Ueda

Murakawa

Yuan

M. G.

Yang

H. Q.

Improvement in numerical accuracy and stability of 3-D FEM analysis in welding

Weld. J., 1996, 129–134.

12.

ABAQUS Theory and User's Manuals, Version 5.5, 1995 (Hibbitt, Karlsson and Sorensen Inc., Providence, Rhode Island, USA).

13.

Krutz

G. W.

Segerlind

L. J.

Finite element analysis of welded structures

Weld. J., 1978, 57, 211_s-216_s.

14.

Tekriwal

Stitt

P. M.

Mazumder

Finite element modelling of heat transfer for gas tungsten arc welding

Metal Constr., 1987, 19, 599_r-606_r.

15.

Senthilkumaran

Kumar

Krishna R.

Sriraman

Kothaiyah

P. V.

Straightening of thin sheets after welding by magnetic forming process using finite element method. In Proceedings of National Conference on

Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, Coimbatore, India, February 1998.