A 3D finite element analysis of temperature and stress fields in girth welded 304L stainless steel pipe
- Oregon Graduate Inst. of Science and Technology, Portland, OR (United States)
- Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
A 3D finite element analysis model was developed to simulate a multipass, narrow gap pipe girth welding process. The pipe simulated was a Type 304L stainless steel pipe with a diameter of 406 mm, a thickness of 12.7 mm, and a narrow groove configuration. This pipe was finished in four continuous welding passes with one start-stop position. Temperatures, deformations and strains were recorded in real time during pipe welding. The thermal results from this model were tuned to match the calculated temperature histories with the comparable experimental thermal cycles. The calculated temperature histories were found to be axisymmetrically distributed around the pipe except in locations close to the welding start-stop position. This is in good agreement with what was observed from the experimental data. The calculated stress results show that the tensile residual stress zone on the pipe inner surface is about 30 mm from the weld centerline on each side and the tensile residual stress zone in the pipe wall thickness is about 5 mm from the pipe inner surface for up to 19 mm from the weld centerline (WCL). The calculated residual stresses are, in general, axisymmetrically distributed around the pipe except in locations near the welding start-stop position. This is not in agreement with what was noted from the experimental results. The comparison between the calculated stress results with the limited neutron diffraction residual stress measurements on the pipe inner surface demonstrates reasonable agreement between them. This 3D model is the first attempt at simulation of a full multipass girth pipe welding process. Much improvement could be realized, but more experimental residual stress measurements on pipe weldments are needed to verify this model.
- OSTI ID:
- 442926
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950682--; ISBN 0-87170-567-2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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