Determination of residual stresses in multipass weldments of high strength steels with experimental and numerical techniques

AbstractThis paper presents part of the work from the EU project ELIXIR on a series of welded geometries. Experimental and numerical techniques have been applied to determine residual stresses in buttwelded joints of high strength steel. Starting from simple weld geometries that served for validation of these tools, residual stresses were measured and calculated for an industrial component for offshore application. In spite of some simplifications in the numerical simulation of the welding process, satisfying agreement with experimental data has been achieved especially if relevant three-dimensional effects have been modelled. The validation of numerical techniques for residual stress calculations can help to enable cost effective fabrication and repair of steel components.