Comprehensive residual stress profiles for a range of weld geometries and materials

When components are joined together by fusion welding, residual stress fields are set up in the vicinity of the welded joint due to the high temperature gradients and plastic deformation in the vicinity of the weld. Since information is often not directly available on residual stress distributions, compendia with recommended (upper-bound) residual stress profiles for use in structural integrity analyses are included in R6 and BS7910. In this study, the residual stress distributions typical of those due to welding and fabrication process were reviewed and the representative distributions for a range of weld joint types were examined. Stress profiles have been collated from data available in the public domain for various types of weld geometries. Linear elastic stress intensity factors (SIFs) have been determined using finite element analysis in conjunction with the superposition method. The results were compared with the SIFs obtained using the stress distribution recommended in the assessment procedures R6 and BS7910