ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the impact of different levels of a filler metal penetration or lack of fusion and initial linear misalignments and angular distortion of the welded plates on residual stresses. It discusses a three dimensional finite element model is employed to analyse the heat transfer and the distortion in a butt arc welding. The J. Goldak et al. three-dimensional model is used to perform the heat flow analysis and the resulting distortion distribution over the entire welded plates is estimated. Most of the metal structures are welded during the manufacturing process. The optimal conditions of welding are difficult to be satisfied, especially during the repairing, and as a result different misalignment/imperfections are induced. In a real yard condition and especially during the repair operation, it is very hard to perform a high quality welding without inducing any imperfection. In case of possible imperfections due to manufacturing processes the initial misalignment has a negative impact on fatigue and buckling strength.
