Mitigation of Welding-Induced Tensile Residual Stress at Surface of Heavy Section Plate by In-Process Control Welding With Trailing Heat Sink

Abstract

In this study, in-process control welding with a trailing heat sink was applied to mitigate the weld tensile residual stress at the surface of a heavy section plate of low-carbon austenitic stainless steel. The distribution of the weld residual stress at the surface of the plate was evaluated by X-ray stress measurement and finite element analysis. As the results, it was experimentally and analytically confirmed that the welding-induced tensile residual stress at the welded surface was mitigated by welding with a trailing heat sink. Also, the measurement and simulation results were in good agreement. Based on the simulation results, the mechanisms of mitigation of the residual stress by welding with a trailing heat sink were discussed. It was concluded that the mitigation of the weld residual stress is due to the inverted gradient of temperature from the welded surface to the deepest parts of the plate.