Computational analysis of welding radial deformation of typical pressure cylindrical shell with ring stiffener
Hong Zhou, Chaonan Shen, Jiangchao Wang
Abstract
We report on the evaluation of the radial deformation caused by the welding process on a typical pressure cylindrical shell with ring stiffeners. Welding experiments on butt and fillet welding were conducted beforehand, and temperature-dependent material properties were considered. The out-of-plane welding distortion and residual stress were measured using a three-coordinate measuring machine and X-ray diffraction, respectively. Effective thermal elastic plastic FE analysis based on parallel computation technology was performed to examine the mechanical behaviors. Computed results were validated by comparison with experimental measurements. Welding inherent deformations of the examined butt and fillet joints were then evaluated by integrating computed plastic strains. The elastic FE analysis, with welding inherent deformation as mechanical loading, was employed to examine the dimensional variation of the considered pressure cylindrical shell. The influence of ring stiffener on welding radial deformation was also discussed. Moreover, the application of welding sequence modification and inverse deformation was numerically examined with the proposed elastic FE analysis to reduce the welding radial deformation and enhance the fabrication accuracy.