Theoretical Prediction and Control of Welding Distortion in Large Structures Considering Positioning and the Gap between Partst

摘要

Ships and automobiles are fabricated from thin curved plates. To assemble these parts, welding is commonly used. However, it is impossible to avoid distortion induced by welding. The distortion causes problems not only in the assembling process but also in the final products. The shrinkage of the weld zone is just one of the reasons for the distortion during assembly. Other factors, such as positioning, fixtures and welding sequence must be controlled to achieve the required precision. In this research, a finite element method (FEM) for predicting the welding distortion of three-dimensional curved structures for considering positioning and the gap between parts .is proposed. In this method, an interface element is introduced to model the joining process. The usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated through the prediction of the welding distortion of curved plate structures and the influence of the gap correction is investigated.