Finite Element Simulation of Laser Beam Welding Induced Residual Stresses and Distortions in a T-Joint Configuration for Aeronautic Structures

Abstract

Laser beam welding has found its application in the aircraft industry for the fabrication of fuselage panels in a T-joint configuration. However, the inconveniences like distortions and residual stresses are inevitable consequences of welding. The effort is made in this work to experimentally measure and numerically simulate the distortions induced by laser beam welding of a T-joint with industrially used thermal and mechanical boundary conditions on the thin sheets of aluminium 6056-T4. Several small scale experiments were carried out with various instrumentations to establish a database necessary to verify the simulation results. Finite element (FE) simulation is performed with Abaqus and the conical heat source is programmed in FORTRAN. Heat transfer analysis is performed to achieve the required weld pool geometry and temperature fields. Mechanical analysis is then performed with industrial loading and boundary conditions so as to predict the distortion and the residual stress pattern. A good agreement is found amongst the experimental and simulation results.