Thermo-mechanical-fluid coupled modeling for residual stress prediction in thick plate welding

Welding thick plates induces more complex residual stress distributions than thin plates, with traditional thermo-mechanical model struggling to accurately predict the impact of molten pool flow and weld bead morphology. This study proposes a novel thermal fluid mechanical model (CFD-FEM) by integra...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yonghui Su, Haitao Xia, Shuo Chen, Chen Wang, Shuaiyu Wu, Wei Lu, Jun Zhu, Hao Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425011445
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850143607120461824
author Yonghui Su
Haitao Xia
Shuo Chen
Chen Wang
Shuaiyu Wu
Wei Lu
Jun Zhu
Hao Wu
author_facet Yonghui Su
Haitao Xia
Shuo Chen
Chen Wang
Shuaiyu Wu
Wei Lu
Jun Zhu
Hao Wu
author_sort Yonghui Su
collection DOAJ
description Welding thick plates induces more complex residual stress distributions than thin plates, with traditional thermo-mechanical model struggling to accurately predict the impact of molten pool flow and weld bead morphology. This study proposes a novel thermal fluid mechanical model (CFD-FEM) by integrating the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and the finite element method (FEM) model, considering molten pool flow. The gas-metal interface is captured employing the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method, enabling accurate extraction of the solidified weld bead morphology for each pass in thick multi-pass welding. This morphology is then utilized in the FEM model to reconstruct weld geometry for residual stress prediction. For double-V thick-plate butt welds, the CFD-FEM model, validated by blind-hole tests, reduces Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) by 47.77 MPa and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) by 27.22 % compared with traditional model. The results demonstrate that convex weld bead formation is primarily driven by fluid momentum, surface tension gradients, and the Marangoni effect. The alternating welding strategy effectively reduces surface residual stress. By incorporating the cladding effect and providing more realistic weld bead morphology, the CFD-FEM model predicts residual stress of 478.43 MPa at adjacent weld junctions, compared with 243.26 MPa for the traditional model, better capturing local stress concentrations at the weld interface.
format Article
id doaj-art-e36bfe23b2074e5ab40b02ed98e0f65d
institution OA Journals
issn 2238-7854
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Materials Research and Technology
spelling doaj-art-e36bfe23b2074e5ab40b02ed98e0f65d2025-08-20T02:28:38ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-05-01367557757110.1016/j.jmrt.2025.04.323Thermo-mechanical-fluid coupled modeling for residual stress prediction in thick plate weldingYonghui Su0Haitao Xia1Shuo Chen2Chen Wang3Shuaiyu Wu4Wei Lu5Jun Zhu6Hao Wu7School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; Nantong Taisheng Blue Island Offshore Co., Ltd., Nantong, 226251, ChinaSchool of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, ChinaSchool of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, ChinaNantong Taisheng Blue Island Offshore Co., Ltd., Nantong, 226251, ChinaNantong Taisheng Blue Island Offshore Co., Ltd., Nantong, 226251, ChinaShanghai Key Lab. of D&A for Metal-Functional Materials, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 201804, ChinaNantong Taisheng Blue Island Offshore Co., Ltd., Nantong, 226251, China; Corresponding author.School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; Nantong Taisheng Blue Island Offshore Co., Ltd., Nantong, 226251, China; Corresponding author. School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.Welding thick plates induces more complex residual stress distributions than thin plates, with traditional thermo-mechanical model struggling to accurately predict the impact of molten pool flow and weld bead morphology. This study proposes a novel thermal fluid mechanical model (CFD-FEM) by integrating the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and the finite element method (FEM) model, considering molten pool flow. The gas-metal interface is captured employing the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method, enabling accurate extraction of the solidified weld bead morphology for each pass in thick multi-pass welding. This morphology is then utilized in the FEM model to reconstruct weld geometry for residual stress prediction. For double-V thick-plate butt welds, the CFD-FEM model, validated by blind-hole tests, reduces Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) by 47.77 MPa and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) by 27.22 % compared with traditional model. The results demonstrate that convex weld bead formation is primarily driven by fluid momentum, surface tension gradients, and the Marangoni effect. The alternating welding strategy effectively reduces surface residual stress. By incorporating the cladding effect and providing more realistic weld bead morphology, the CFD-FEM model predicts residual stress of 478.43 MPa at adjacent weld junctions, compared with 243.26 MPa for the traditional model, better capturing local stress concentrations at the weld interface.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425011445Thermal fluid mechanical modelMolten pool flow behaviorWelding residual stresses evolutionLocal stress concentration
spellingShingle Yonghui Su
Haitao Xia
Shuo Chen
Chen Wang
Shuaiyu Wu
Wei Lu
Jun Zhu
Hao Wu
Thermo-mechanical-fluid coupled modeling for residual stress prediction in thick plate welding
Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Thermal fluid mechanical model
Molten pool flow behavior
Welding residual stresses evolution
Local stress concentration
title Thermo-mechanical-fluid coupled modeling for residual stress prediction in thick plate welding
title_full Thermo-mechanical-fluid coupled modeling for residual stress prediction in thick plate welding
title_fullStr Thermo-mechanical-fluid coupled modeling for residual stress prediction in thick plate welding
title_full_unstemmed Thermo-mechanical-fluid coupled modeling for residual stress prediction in thick plate welding
title_short Thermo-mechanical-fluid coupled modeling for residual stress prediction in thick plate welding
title_sort thermo mechanical fluid coupled modeling for residual stress prediction in thick plate welding
topic Thermal fluid mechanical model
Molten pool flow behavior
Welding residual stresses evolution
Local stress concentration
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425011445
work_keys_str_mv AT yonghuisu thermomechanicalfluidcoupledmodelingforresidualstresspredictioninthickplatewelding
AT haitaoxia thermomechanicalfluidcoupledmodelingforresidualstresspredictioninthickplatewelding
AT shuochen thermomechanicalfluidcoupledmodelingforresidualstresspredictioninthickplatewelding
AT chenwang thermomechanicalfluidcoupledmodelingforresidualstresspredictioninthickplatewelding
AT shuaiyuwu thermomechanicalfluidcoupledmodelingforresidualstresspredictioninthickplatewelding
AT weilu thermomechanicalfluidcoupledmodelingforresidualstresspredictioninthickplatewelding
AT junzhu thermomechanicalfluidcoupledmodelingforresidualstresspredictioninthickplatewelding
AT haowu thermomechanicalfluidcoupledmodelingforresidualstresspredictioninthickplatewelding