An Investigation on the Features of Deformation and Residual Stress Generated by Patch Welding with Different Plate Sizes

Welding is widely used to manufacture and repair steel structures such as piping and pressure vessels. Welding induces deformation and residual stress, which influences the mechanical performance of the structural members. Noting patch welding, which is applied to repair steel structures, a series of patch welding experiments and numerical analyses were carried out. The features of out-of-plane deformation and residual stress by patch welding were examined by changing the patch size. The out-of-plane deformation showed different modes in the patch joints. The magnitude of the out-of-plane deformation depended on the patch size. The tensile residual stress at the weld toe increased with the enlargement of the patch size. The costs for the different sizes of patch welding were estimated for choosing the patch size reasonably. The patch size should be determined by considering the mechanical influences of welding and the economic viewpoints of the welding process.