Experimental Investigation into the Effects of Weld Sequence and Fixture on Residual Stresses in Arc Welding Process

Abstract

This study concentrates on the effects of weld sequence and welding fixtures on distribution and magnitude of induced arc welding residual stresses built up in butt-joint of Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) AA5251 plates. Aluminum plates have been welded under different welding conditions and then, longitudinal and transverse residual stresses were measured in different points of the welded plates employing hole-drilling technique. The results indicate that welding sequence significantly alters the distributions of both longitudinal and transverse residual stresses while the changing in the weld sequence leads to 44% decrease in longitudinal residual stress. Besides, both the geometry of weld pool and distribution of residual stresses are affected by the welding fixtures while implementation of fixture causes about 21 and 76% reductions in the depth of weld pool and transverse residual stress, respectively, for the material and welding conditions used in this research.