Three-dimensional finite element analysis to predict the different zones of microstructure in submerged arc welding

Abstract

The temperature distribution and cooling rate during the welding process have signi®cant e ects on the mechanical and metallurgical properties of a weldment. The change in microstructure, grain growth, hardness and residual stress in a weldment are very dependent on the temperature distribution and cooling rate. In the present work a three-dimensional transient ®nite element analysis of heat transfer in arc welding has been done to predict the di erent zones of microstructures. The problem was solved by taking several important factors into consideration (such as temperature dependence of material properties, a Gaussian distribution for the welding arc, enthalpy, etc.). The model was indirectly veri®ed by conducting some experiments on submerged arc welding. The weld metal zone, coarse-grained zone and ®ne-grained zone were theoretically estimated by using three-dimensional ®nite element analysis and compared with the experimentally measured values. It was found that theoretically estimated zones corresponded well to the experimentally measured zones. A correlation was also developed to estimate the arc radius from the weld metal zone.

Investigation of temperature and residual stresses field of submerged arc welding by finite element method and experiments

“…Because of its high quality and reliability, submerged arc welding (SAW) is employed extensively in industry to join metals for the manufacture of energy transportation pipes applied for different applications [1][2][3]. The service performance of SAW joints is dependent on the fusion zone microstructure, which itself is dependent on the weld thermal cycle and alloying elements [4].…”

“…Several numerical [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and experimental investigations [1,2,[18][19][20][21][22] of arc welding have been reported by various researchers. Rosenthal [23] first proposed a mathematical model of a moving heat source under the assumption of quasi-steady state; however, as many researchers have discussed, Rosenthal's analysis (that assumes either a point, line, or plane source of heat) has major error for temperatures in or near the fusion and heat-affected zones [24].…”

A neutron diffraction study of residual stress due to welding

“…Numerical techniques to estimate residual stresses have been developed to a degree of sophistication, which is shown in recent publications [19][20][21]. Finite element approaches have been used for welding [22][23][24] but a major review still determined that there remains an "urgent need" [25] to develop the required knowledge.…”

The influence of the heat source model selection on mapping of heat affected zones during surfacing by welding

“…With reference to the example of applying the submerged arc, analyzed later in the work, modeling of the temperature field during welding with this technique was examined in works [9][10][11][12] among others.…”