Abstract
By using the finite element method based on the large deformation theory, the effect of pre-straining on angular distortion of one-pass fillet weldments was analysed for the free-end and constrained-end condition. Pre-straining by an additional concentrated load caused a large thermal deformation during heating, and reduced the reverse distortion during cooling and consequently the residual distortion. Geometric change of the fillet weldment caused by pre-straining during welding induced an initial stress effect on the stiffness to the further deformation, which is due to a developed in-plane stress. This initial stress effect could be considered in the large deformation theory to be based on the updated Lagrangian method, while it could not in the small deformation theory. As the pre-straining load increased in the free-end condition, the initial stress effect also increased. In the constrained-end condition, the initial stress effect played an important role in the deformation of the fillet weldment, even without pre-straining. By comparing the results predicted by the large deformation theory with those by the small deformation theory and experiments, it can be shown that the large deformation theory is able to describe the distortion phenomenon in fillet welding reasonably well.