Out-of-plane distortion prediction of large thin-walled structures induced by friction stir welding

ABSTRACT

A numerical method is developed to predict the out-of-plane distortion for large thin-walled structures induced by friction stir welding. Considering the constraint of non-welded region in a large structure, the non-uniform stress distribution along the weld is accurately computed with a small structure. The welds in the small and large structures are divided into the beginning, middle, and end regions due to the non-uniform stress situation. By using the interpolation function, the stress components in various regions of the small structure are mapped to the corresponding locations in the large thin-walled structure. Then, the out-of-plane distortion of the large structure is computed when the clamps are released. The predicted residual stress and distortion for the large welded structure are in accordance with the experimental data.

KEYWORDS:

• Welding distortion
• non-uniform welding stress
• non-welded region
• large thin-walled structure
• friction stir welding

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work received the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 51775345) and the National Basic Research Program of China (no. 2014CB046600).