Benchmark study on considering welding-induced distortion in structural stress analysis of thin-plate structures

Influence of weld-induced distortions on the stress magnification factor of a thin laser-hybrid welded ship deck panel

“…Laser-hybrid welding has a lower heat input compared to the commonly used shielded metal arc welding (Fricke et al 2015, Gupta 2017, which leads to smaller welding-induced distortions, better weld quality and consequently longer fatigue life (Remes et al 2017). Still, with the thinner plates, welding induced distortions possess a significant impact on the fatigue life of deck panels as observed in previous research , Remes & Fricke 2014, Lillemäe-Avi et al 2017.…”

“…Shell elements with four nodes, steel material with Young's Modulus 206.8 GPa, and Poisson's Ratio of 0.3 were used in FEA model. The thickness increase due to welding is assumed symmetric with respect to the midplane of the panel, and the elements at butt weld were thickened to imitate the additional stiffness as in Lillemäe-Avi et al (2017). The mesh on the distorted plate is shown in Figure 10.…”

“…Several studies have been performed to analyze and quantify the effect of geometrical imperfections on welded structures in thin plates (Fricke et al 2015, Fricke & Feltz 2013, 2017, Remes & Fricke 2014, Eggert et al 2012, Lillemäe-Avi et al 2017. The full-scale fatigue test by showed a strong influence of shape and geometrical nonlinearity due to distortions on the structural stress of the deck panels.…”

“…For, thin-welded panels (see Fig. 2), the experiments showed a half sine-wave-like shape in the transverse direction and several half sine waves in the longitudinal direction as shown in Figure 3 The existing structural hot-spot extrapolation methods were successfully utilized in FEA for thin welded panels with complex distortion shapes and geometrical non-linearity (Fricke & Feltz 2013, Eggert et al 2012, Lillemäe-Avi et al 2017. When an initially distorted panel is loaded, local secondary bending effect in the panel causes geometrically non-linear behavior; such response is considered in non-linear FEA.…”

Report of Committee III.2: Fatigue and fracture

“…Due attention was dedicated to the fabrication, improvements and in-service maintenance with respect to the suitability and uncertainty of physical models and testing. Consideration was given to fatigue design and verification based on Rules, standard and guidelines and reliability assessment performed in three benchmark studies , Lillemäe-Avi et al, 2017) that will be presented and discussed in the third volume of the Proceedings of the 20 th International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress. 462 references, covering the last four years, were reviewed and discussed in the report.…”