Numerical Prediction of Strength of Socket Welded Pipes Taking into Account Computer Simulated Welding Stresses and Deformations

The paper presents a numerical model based on the finite element method (FEM) to predict deformations and residual stresses in socket welding of different diameter stainless steel pipes made of X5CrNi18-10 steel. The next part of the paper concerns the determination of strength properties of a welded joint in terms of a shear test. A thermo-elastic–plastic numerical model is developed using Abaqus FEA software in order to determine the thermal and mechanical phenomena of the welded joint. This approach requires the implementation of moveable heat source power intensity distribution based on circumferentially moving Goldak’s heat source model. This model is implemented in the additional DFLUX subroutine, written in Fortran programming language. The correctness of the assumed model of thermal phenomena is confirmed by examinations of the shape and size of the melted zone. The strength of the welded joint subjected to shear is verified by performing a compression test of welded pipes as well as computer simulations with validation of the computational model using the Dantec 3D image correlation system.