Mitigation of welding induced buckling distortion using transient thermal tensioning

Abstract

Welding induces residual stresses in structures and may cause buckling distortion if the stresses exceed the critical buckling stress of the structure. Reducing the welding heat input or increasing the structural stiffness reduces or eliminates buckling distortion. However, where, because of the design constraints, structure geometry and weld size are fixed, the transient thermal tensioning process is effective in reducing buckling distortion. An experimental verification and demonstration of transient thermal tensioning for minimising welding induced buckling distortion is presented. Conventional welding was carried out to demonstrate buckling distortion and establish a baseline case. Buckling distortion was eliminated using transient thermal tensioning during welding under the same welding conditions. After buckling distortion was eliminated, angular distortion became evident, which was eliminated using mechanical restraints alongside transient thermal tensioning. Residual stress measurements were obtained using the blind hole drilling method and a comparison of residual stresses for the baseline panel and for the panel with transient thermal tensioning is presented.