Determination of residual stresses in thick-section weldments

The purpose of this study is to develop an analytical method for predicting through thickness distribution of residual stresses in a thick plate with a multipass welding process. The analysis was carried out in two steps. The first step was to develop a thermal model for heat flow analysis in a two-dimensional cross-section of the plate. For a modeling of the heat input to the cross-section, a ramp heat input was used to avoid numerical instability and to include the effect of a moving arc. The best ramp time was selected by an analysis of the root pass on a 1/2-in