A 2D and 3D thermo-elastic-plastic (TEP) FE Analysis has been developed to simulate the angular distortion induced by Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) process on combination of butt and T-joint with thickness of 9 mm. The material used in this study was low alloy Manganese Carbon steel S355J2G3. In this research, SYSWELD 2010 with its computation management tool known as Multipassed Welding Advisor (MPA) was used to analyze the distortion behaviour of combined joint types. To model the heat source of GMAW, Goldak’s double ellipsoid representation which is available within this FEA code was selected. The final objective of this research is hence aimed to be base line study to provide preliminary information in preparing the tools or equipments for experimental investigation.

In this paper, the capability of linear thermo-elastic numerical analysis method to estimate the welding deformations was investigated. The weld induced deformation is considered as the major stumbling block that can affect the dimensional accuracy. Based on this fact, welding distortion is necessarily to be predicted, if experimental investigation becomes expensive, to minimize the negative effects, improve the quality of welded parts and finally to reduce production cost. In this study, the welding distortions on butt and T-joints with thicknesses of 4 mm and 6 mm were simulated using relatively new FEM software WELD PLANNER developed by ESI Group. The material used for the simulation was low Carbon steel. By comparing the results between simulation and experiment, it was found out that this software provided immediate solution for computational analysis time and was capable to predict the distortion within acceptable accuracy.

In this paper, a local/global approach has been used to predict weld induced distortion in butt joint. This approach combines non-linear thermo-elastic plastic and linear elastic analyses to compute final distortion triggered by the welding process. Distortion can lead to dimensional inaccuracy and thus causing the rise in fabrication cost. In this study, Finite Element Method (FEM) software Sysweld and Pam-Assembly were used for computing the welding deformation. The material used for the simulation was low carbon steel with thickness of 4 mm. Based on the result obtained, it was observed that this approach provides fast computation time and efficient solution.