Methodology to Reduce Distortion Using a Hybrid Thermal Welding Process

Welding is a thermal process which results in high strain and stress values in the material and leads to its change of phase. This might cause significant distortions in the welded structure, which often becomes a relevant design and manufacturing issue. This study deals with a line-heating-based forming process that is applied at the moment of the welding operation, with the final objective of minimizing distortion. A FEM (finite element method) based on a thermo-elastoplastic approach is used here. The computational method is first calibrated in three stages: heatline forming calibration, flame heat source calibration, and the weld process. The final model presented in this work simulates a hybrid process called htTTT (high-temperature thermal transient tensioning) which was optimized over large T welds to minimize the final distortion of the components.