ISSN (Print) : 0974-6846

Indian Journal of Science and Technology, Vol 8(36), DOI: 10.17485/ijst/2015/v8i36/87558, December 2015 ISSN (Online) : 0974-5645

Residual Stress Analysis in Austenitic Stainless Steel

Weldment by Finite Element Method
N. Jayakumar¹*, S. Mohanamurugan², R. Rajavel2 and J. Ashok Kumar2
¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, AMET University, Chennai - 603112, Tamil Nadu, India
²Department of Automobile Engineering, Saveetha University, Chennai - 600072, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract
Residual stress in weldments is one of the major concerns in manufacturing industries especially in welding. They occur,
sometimes during the initial processing of metals and sometimes during rolling, forging, casting etc. In welding these
stresses develop due to non uniform cooling of the welded zone. Tensile stresses are primarily responsible for crack
initiation and product failure. Residual stress may also lead to premature failure of the welded joints when subjected
to hazardous conditions. There are various physical methods of detection of residual stress in weldments such as x-ray
­diffraction­ and­ deep­ hole­ drilling.­ Nevertheless,­ numerical­ method­ is­ also­ one­ of­ the­ most­ popular­ methods­ among
researchers to solve various complex engineering problems. In this work, numerical simulation is carried out by creating a
2-D­model­of­the­Austenitic­stainless­steel­weldment­with­various­boundary­conditions­using­ANSYS­15.0­software­and­the
results are studied. The details of residual stress are explained with relevance to failure occurrence.

Keywords:­Finite­Element­Method,­Residual­Stress,­Stainless­Steel,­Weldment

1. Introduction shown in Figure 1, residual stresses start off from misfits

between different areas. In certain cases, these misfits
Residual stresses are self balancing internal stresses arising span over huge distances, for example, the one caused by
from non uniform mechanical or thermal straining with the non-uniform plastic deformation of a bent rod. They
some measure of plastic flow. They are mostly related with can also arise from sharp thermal gradients, like those
welding .The mechanical properties of materials such as caused during welding or heat treatment processes. These
creep, fatigue life etc are influenced by these residual stresses could be beneficial, as in the case of shot peening
stresses. On occasions, the effects on these properties and in toughening of glass, whether they are mechani-
are advantageous and other times, these effects are peril- cally induced or thermally induced. The macro stresses
ous. Hence, we need to inspect and control the residual are of type 1 as they differ continuously over large spans.
stresses. There are two different techniques widely used This is in disparity to residual stresses which differ over
to measure the residual stresses. Among them, the most the grain scale or the atomic scale (type 3). In these
common technique is a special type of XRD test which is cases, the misfitting regions span microscopic or submi-
used for measuring the stresses in fine grained crystalline croscopic dimensions. Low level type 2 stresses almost
materials. The other method, the hole drilling method, is always exist in polycrystalline materials only because of
employed only when the X-ray technique is not helpful. the fact that the elastic and thermal properties of differ-
Residual stresses are those which prevent a body ently oriented neighbouring grains are different. More
from maintaining equilibrium with its environment. noteworthy grain scale stresses take place when the
They may be classified by: 1. Cause (thermal or elastic microstructure contains several phases or phase trans-
mismatch). 2. The scale over which they self-equilibrate formations occur. The type 3 category includes stresses
and 3. The method with which they are measured. In due to coherency at interfaces and dislocation stress
this endeavour, a length scale viewpoint is taken up. As fields.

*Author for correspondence

 Residual Stress Analysis in Austenitic Stainless Steel Weldment by Finite Element Method

which is under tension, it may grow swiftly. Like glass,

concrete is also brittle and hence it has got a low tensile
strength. Nevertheless, concrete may be used in tension,
as in cantilever beams, when it is prestressed in compres-
sion. For materials that are plastically deformable, only
the residual and applied stresses can be appended together
directly until the yield strength is reached. In this aspect,
residual stresses can accelerate or delay the inception of
Figure 1.  Various forms of residual stress. plastic deformation; though, their effect on static ductile
failure is often little as the misfit strains are very small and
so are washed out by plasticity eventually.
2.  Residual Stress in Weldment
Li Yajiang investigated the distribution of the residual
Residual stress in any material arises from the day it is stress in the weld joint of HQ130 grade high strength
processed from ingot to the final form. It is generated dur- steel by employing Finite Element Method (FEM) by
ing rolling, forging, casting etc. Residual stresses would using ANSYS software. Welding was carried out using gas
be set up when a component is stressed beyond the elastic shielded arc welding with a heat input of 16 kJ/cm. The
limit and when plastic flow occurs. In welding, it would FEM analysis on the weld joint revealed that there was a
usually be at a macro level. Uneven cooling and heating stress gradient around the fusion zone of weld joint. The
in the weldment are the major cause of residual stresses in instantaneous residual stress on the weld surface went
weldment. There is a homogeneous volume change due to up to 1000 MPa and it was 600 MPa under the weld. The
local heating and cooling which leads to the building up stress gradient near the fusion zone was higher than any
of elastic stress. To be more precise the various sources of other location in the adjoining area. This was endorsed as
residual stress in weldment would be due to one of the important reasons for the growth of cold cracks
at the fusion zone in the high strength steel1.
• Shrinkage process of the seam and HAZ. Yu. V. Taran applied the investigation of ­diffraction
• More rapid cooling of the surface. spectra from austenitic stainless steel by means of a
• Phase transformation. martensite phase plastically stimulated during cyclic
• Superimposition of residual stress owing to shrinkage, tensile-compressive loading. The spectra were acquired
quenching and transformation. during in  situ neutron diffraction stress rig testing on
the ENGIN instrument at the ISIS pulsed neutron facil-
ity, ensuing the cyclic loading. The subsequent applied
3.  Effect of Residual Stress
stress–elastic strain reactions of the austenitic matrix
While it is not intended to reassess the effects of residual and martensitic inclusions were attained by Rietveld
stress on performance in a detailed manner, it becomes refinement of the spectra and used to find out the elastic
necessary to consider momentarily the causes why resid- constants and residual stresses of the phases as a function
ual stress is calculated. The performance on static loading of fatigue level. The data showed that the elastic proper-
of brittle materials may be enhanced considerably by the ties of both phases are similar, which allowed the simple
intelligent use of residual stress. Familiar examples are determination of residual stresses2.
thermally toughened glass and prestressed concrete. In D. H. Bae presented a technique for fatigue strength
thermally toughed glass, rapid cooling of the glass from appraisal of spot welds, which incorporated the posses-
high temperature produces compressive surface stresses sions of welding residual stress. Residual stress analysis
counterbalanced by tensile stresses in the core. The surface with a welding thermal record was estimated first, and
compressive stress means that the surface flaws that might then stress analysis for fatigue was carried out. Firstly,
cause failures at very low levels of applied stress experi- the residual stresses of spot welds were computed using
ence in-plane compression. Whereas the core experiences a nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (FEA). To validify
counterbalancing tensile stresses, this region is mostly the FEA outcomes, the estimated residual stresses were
free from defects and so the innate strength of the glass is judged against to those calculated by X-ray diffraction. The
adequate to avert failure. Once a crack penetrates the core residual stress distributions illustrated good ­conformity

2 Vol 8 (36) | December 2015 | www.indjst.org Indian Journal of Science and Technology
 N. Jayakumar, S. Mohanamurugan, R. Rajavel and J. Ashok Kumar

between calculations and measurements. Then, to assess used for the design and optimization of a system that is
the fatigue strength of spot welds, stress analyses were very complex to analyze manually. Systems that fit into
carried out under tensile loading on various configura- this class are too difficult due to their geometry, scale, or
tions and contours of spot welds3. governing equations.
ANSYS offers a lucrative way to investigate the
­performance of products or processes in a virtual atmo-
4.  Experimental sphere. This type of product development is known as
virtual prototyping. With virtual prototyping techniques,
4.1  Finite Element Method
users can iterate various scenarios to optimize products
The Finite Element Method (FEM) has become a key and even before they are manufactured. This would make
vital technology in the modeling and simulation of supe- reduction in the level of risk, and in the cost of unsuccess-
rior engineering systems in diverse fields like building, ful designs. The multifaceted nature of ANSYS also gives
transportation, communications etc. In building such a means to affirm that users would be able to foresee the
modern engineering systems, engineers and designers go effect of a design on the whole behavior of the products.
through a sophisticated process of visualization, model-
ing, simulation, analysis, designing, prototyping, testing
and finally fabrication. It is to be noted that much effort 5.  Results and Discussions
is involved before the fabrication of the final product or
For the analysis of residual stress in weldments of
system. This is to make sure that the workability of the
­austenitic stainless steel, we can employ coupled field
finished product, as well as for cost effectiveness. This pro-
analysis. A coupled-field analysis is an analysis that takes
gression is often iterative in nature, in the sense that some
into account the coupling between two or more fields of
of the actions are repeated based on the results acquired
engineering. For example, a piezoelectric analysis, han-
at the present stage, so as to accomplish an optimal per-
dles the interaction between the structural and electric
formance at the lowest cost for the system to be built. As
fields. It solves for the voltage distribution due to applied
a result, practices related to modeling and simulation in a
displacements, or vice versa. Other examples of coupled-
rapid and effective way take part in an increasingly signifi-
field analysis are thermal-stress analysis, thermal-electric
cant role, resulting in the use of the FEM being multiplied
analysis, and fluid-structure analysis. Some of the applica-
in to many folds as a result of this. The procedure of com-
tions in which coupled-field analysis may be required are
putational modeling using the FEM broadly consists of
pressure vessels where thermal-stress analysis would be
four steps:
carried out, fluid flow constrictions where fluid-structure
• Geometrical Modeling. analysis would be carried out, induction heating where
• Meshing by discretization. magnetic-thermal analysis would be carried out, ultra-
• Material property specification. sonic transducers where piezoelectric analysis would be
• Specification of boundary, initial and loading carried out, magnetic forming where magneto-struc-
­conditions. tural analysis would be carried out and Micro-Electro
Mechanical Systems (MEMS).

4.2  Software used

6. Thermal-Stress Analysis using
ANSYS 15.0 was used for this work. ANSYS is a
­general-purpose Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software
Multiple Physics Environments
package. FEA is a method of deconstructing an intricate For this endeavour, two plates of austenitic stainless steel
system into very tiny pieces of user-defined size called were butt welded by TIG welding technique. After the
elements, numerically. The software executes equations welded plates were cooled, cold cracks were observed
that administer the behavior of these elements and solves due to the residual stress in the weldment. This residual
them, creating a complete explanation of how the method stress in the weldment was analysed by thermal stress
acts as a whole. These results then could then be presented analysis using multiple physics environment. Table 1
in graphical or tabulated forms. This type of analysis is shows the input parameters for the welding. Figure 2 and

Vol 8 (36) | December 2015 | www.indjst.org Indian Journal of Science and Technology 3
 Residual Stress Analysis in Austenitic Stainless Steel Weldment by Finite Element Method

Figure 3 show residual stress distribution and types of

residual stress in but weld.
Figure 4 shows the boundary conditions for welding
and Figure 5 shows the residual stress at a given point on the
weldment. From Figure 6, it is obvious that stress concen-
tration is more in the direction of width of the test plates.

Figure 4. Boundary conditions for welding.

Table 1. Input parameters
Parameters Values
Length 100mm
Width 30mm
Thickness 4mm
Welding Temperature 1500k
Thermal conductivity 35 w/m-k
Specific Heat 800 J/kg-k Figure 5. Residual tress at a given region.
Density 7800 kg/m³

Figure 6. Stress along x-direction.

7. Conclusion
The distribution of the residual stress in the weld zone
of Austentic stainless steel was found out using ANSYS
finite element analysis software. It is seen that the residual
Figure 2. Residual stress distributions in butt weld. stress, in the direction of the width of test plate has highest
influence on the formation of cold cracks. More accurate
results are to be obtained.

8. References
1. Yajiang L, Juan W, Maoai C, Xiaoqin S. Finite Element anal-
ysis of residual stress in welded zone of high strength steel.
Bull Mater Sci. 2004 Apr; 27(2):127–32.
2. Taran YV, Daymond MR, Schreiber J. Residual Stress
Analysis of Fatigued Austenitic Stainless Steel. Journal of
Neutron Research. 2003; 11(4).
3. Bae DH, Sohn IS, Hong JK. Assessing the Effects of Residual
Stresses on the Fatigue Strength of Spot Welds. Welding
Journal. 2003 Jan.
4. Macura P, Fiala A. Experimental residual stress analysis at
welded pipelines. 2002.
Figure 3. Types of residual stress in butt weld.

4 Vol 8 (36) | December 2015 | www.indjst.org Indian Journal of Science and Technology