Numerical simulation of welding - stainless steel 316L: validation on tests of rising complexity

The aim of this study is the prediction with numerical simulation of residual stresses and distortions generated by the welding process. The special case of the TIG welding process on 316L steel is considered. In order to investigate phenomena and difficulties that must be taken into account for the numerical simulation of the welding process, a parallel experimental and numerical study is carried out on different kind of tests, of increasing complexity, from one dimensional to three-dimensional. As first step, one-dimensional tests are led on round bar specimen for which temperatures and stresses are macroscopically homogeneous in the studied zone. These tests investigate the thermo-mechanical behavior of the steel, when submitted to thermal cycles similar to those that occur in the Heat Affected Zone during welding. This kind of test is also very useful for the validation of different constitutive equations. As second step, axi-symmetrical tests are led on simplified structures in order to investigate the structure effect and problems due to the presence of a weld pool. Lastly, a test more representative of a real welding operation, which involves a moving heat source, integrates the three-dimensional effect. In parallel, numerical simulations are performed for each test, using the finite element code code-Aster (EDF). Comparative analysis between experimental and numerical results allows the assessment of the ability of the numerical code to predict residual stresses and distortions, and parametric analysis allow us to investigate the sensitivity of numerical results to material characteristic data, constitutive equation, or modeling of the heat input. (author)