Welding Residual Stress Analysis

It's the prediction of residual stress distribution caused by the welding process and the evaluation of the relaxation effect through PWHT (Post-Weld Heat Treatment). It directly relates to fatigue and fracture evaluation via its influence on the stress intensity factor.

Expressing this in a formula, it looks like this.

Creep relaxation after PWHT:

Simulation for welding residual stress analysis is formulated as a coupled problem of thermodynamics, solid mechanics, and fluid dynamics. The physical phenomena of the manufacturing process span multiple time and spatial scales, requiring an appropriate combination of macro-scale continuum models and meso/micro-scale material models. The goal is to quantitatively predict the causal relationship between process parameters (temperature, speed, load, etc.) and product quality (dimensional accuracy, defects, mechanical properties).

The accuracy of manufacturing process simulation heavily depends on the fidelity of the material model. It's necessary to properly define elastoplastic constitutive laws, creep laws, phase transformation models, etc., as functions of temperature and strain rate. Data obtained from material testing (tensile, compression, torsion) is fitted, and validity in extrapolation ranges is verified. Thermodynamic databases like JMatPro or Thermo-Calc are also utilized.

Manufacturing process simulation is formulated as a coupled problem of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and solid mechanics.

Here, $T$ is temperature, $\mathbf{v}$ is the material velocity field, $k$ is thermal conductivity, and $Q$ is internal heat generation (Joule heating, latent heat, frictional heat, etc.).

During solidification, the release/absorption of latent heat significantly affects the temperature field. Formulation using the enthalpy method:

Expressing this in a formula, it looks like this.

Here, $L$ is the latent heat, and $f_l(T)$ is the liquid fraction (taking a value between 0 and 1 in the solid-liquid coexistence region).

Plastic deformation of metals is described by constitutive laws like Johnson-Cook:

$A$: Initial yield stress, $B$: Hardening coefficient, $n$: Hardening exponent, $C$: Strain rate sensitivity, $m$: Thermal softening exponent.

Flow analysis for casting processes involves solving the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible flow with a free surface. The Volume of Fluid (VOF) method is commonly used to track the interface between air and molten metal.