Mechanical Simulation of Welding

Accurate estimation of the distortion, the strain, and the residual stress induced by welding is necessary to asses the strength and the reliability of the structures. Theoretical methods such as the finite element method are powerful tools for their prediction including the process in which they are produced. In this chapter, the basic theories for the computation of the transient temperature, welding distortion, and the residual stress are explained using very simple one-dimensional models. The ideas explained for the one-dimensional problem are general so that they can be readily extended to two-dimensional or three-dimensional problems.