CSWIP 3.

1 Welding Inspection

Stress & Distortion

Course Reference WIS 5

Course notes section reference 17
Stresses
Normal Stress
Stress arising from a force perpendicular to the
cross sectional area

Compression

Tension
Stresses
Shear Stress
Stress arising from forces which are parallel to, and
lie in the plane of the cross sectional area.

Shear Stress
Stresses
Hoop Stress
Internal stress acting on the wall a pipe or cylinder
due to internal pressure.

Hoop Stress
Residual Stresses
• The heating and subsequent cooling from welding produces
expansion and contractions which affect the weld metal and adjacent
material.
• If this contraction is prevented residual stress will develop.
• The tendency to develop residual stresses increases when the heating
and cooling is localised.
• Stresses are more concentrated at the surface of the component.
• The removal of residual stresses is termed stress relieving.
Residual stress

Heating and cooling

causes expansion
and contraction
 Residual stress

In case of a heated
bar, the resistance
of the surrounding
material to the
expansion and
contraction leads to
formation of
residual stress
Distortion
Origins of distortion in welded joints:
Residual stress
Origins of residual stress in welded joints

Cold weld unfused

Hot weld

Cold weld fused

Residual Stresses
Residual stresses occur in welds in the following directions
 Along the weld – longitudinal residual stresses

 Across the weld – transverse residual stresses

 Through the weld – short transverse residual stresses

Longitudinal

Transverse

Short Transverse
Distortion
• The action of residual stress in welded joints is to cause
distortion
• Distortion will occur in all welded joints if the material are
free to move i.e. not restrained
• Restrained materials result in low distortion but high
residual stress
• More than one type of distortion may occur at one time
• Highly restrained joints also have a higher crack tendency
than joints of a low restraint
Distortion
Factors which affect distortion
• Material properties and condition
• Heat input
• The amount of restrain
• The amount of weld metal deposited
Distortion

Angular Distortion Transverse Distortion

Bowing Distortion Longitudinal Distortion

Distortion
The volume of weld metal in a joint will affect the amount of
local expansion and contraction, hence the more weld
deposited the higher amount of distortion

Preparation angle 60o

Preparation angle 40o

Preparation angle 0o
Distortion
Pre-set or Offsetting:
The amount of offsetting required is generally a function of
trial and error.
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by design

• use of balanced welding

 Distortion

Control of distortion my be achieved in the

following way:
•The used of a different joint design
•Presetting the joints to be welded – so that the
metal distorts into the required position.
•The use of a balanced welding technique
•The use of clamps, jigs and fixtures.
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by design

Consider eliminating the welding!!

a) by forming the plate

b) by use of rolled or extruded sections
Distortion
Back-step welding technique

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Back-skip welding technique

1. 4. 2. 5. 3. 6.
Any Questions

?
 Questions
Stress and Distortion

QU 1. What causes residual stress in welds?

QU 2. State three directions which residual stresses form in a

weld.

QU 3. Give four methods of controlling distortion.

QU 4. Sketch two balanced welding techniques.

QU 5. State four factors which affect distortion.

 Types of residual stress
Transverse residual stress after welding
Maximum stress = YS at
room temperature

Tension

Compression

The longer the weld, the higher the tensile stress!

 Types of residual stress
Longitudinal residual stress after welding
Compression Tension

YS at room
temperature

The higher the heat input the wider the tensile zone!
Types of residual stress
Residual stress after PWHT
Compression Tension

YS at PWHT YS at room
temperature temperature
After PWHT, peak residual stress is less
than a quarter of its initial level!
Residual stress
Residual stresses are undesirable because:

• they lead to distortion

• they affect dimensional stability of the
welded assembly
• they enhance the risk of brittle fracture
• they can facilitate certain types of
corrosion
Distortion
Factors affecting distortion:
• parent material properties
• amount of restrain
• joint design
• fit-up
• welding sequence
Factors affecting distortion
Parent material properties:

• thermal expansion coefficient - the greater the value,

the greater the residual stress
• yield strength - the greater the value, the greater the
residual stress
• Young’s modulus - the greater the value (increase in
stiffness), the greater the residual stress
• thermal conductivity - the higher the value, the lower
the residual stress
• transformation temperature - during phase
transformation, expansion/contraction takes place.
The lower the transformation temperature, the lower
the residual stress
Factors affecting distortion
Joint design:

• weld metal volume

• type of joint - butt vs. fillet, single vs. double side
Amount of restrain:
• thickness - as thickness increase, so do the stresses
• high level of restrain lead to high stresses
• preheat may increase the level of stresses (pipe
welding!)

Fit-up:
• misalignment may reduce stresses in some cases
• root gap - increase in root gap increases shrinkage
Factors affecting distortion
Welding sequence:

• number of passes - every pass adds to the total

contraction
• heat input - the higher the heat input, the greater the
shrinkage
• travel speed - the faster the welding speed, the less
the stress
• build-up sequence
Types of distortion
Transverse shrinkage
Types of distortion
Angular distortion
Distortion prevention
Distortions prevention by design
Allowances to cover shrinkage
- Transverse Shrinkage
• Fillet Welds 0.8mm per weld where the leg length
does not exceed 3/4 plate thickness
• Butt weld 1.5 to 3mm per weld for 60° V joint,
depending on number of runs
- Longitudinal Shrinkage
• Fillet Welds 0.8mm per 3m of weld
• Butt Welds 3mm per 3m of weld
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by pre-setting

a) pre-setting of fillet
joint to prevent
angular distortion
b) pre-setting of butt
joint to prevent
angular distortion
c) tapered gap to
prevent closure
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by pre-bending using strongbacks
and wedges
 Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by restraint techniques

a) use of welding jigs

b) use of flexible clamps

 Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by restraint techniques

c) use of strongbacks
with wedges

d) use of fully welded

strongbacks
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by fabrication techniques

• tack welding
a) tack weld straight
through to end of joint
b) tack weld one end, then
use back-step technique
for tacking the rest of the
joint
c) tack weld the centre, then
complete the tack welding
by the back-step
technique
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by fabrication techniques

• back to back assembly

a) assemblies tacked
together before
welding
b) use of wedges for
components that
distort on separation
after welding
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by fabrication techniques

• use of stiffeners

• control welding process by:

- deposit the weld metal as quickly as possible
- use the least number of runs to fill the joint
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by fabrication techniques

• reduce the number of

runs required to make a
weld (e.g. angular
distortion as a function
of number of runs for a
10 mm leg length weld)
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by fabrication techniques

• control welding techniques by use

balanced welding about the neutral axis
• control welding techniques by keeping
the time between runs to a minimum
Distortion prevention
Distortion prevention by fabrication techniques

• control welding techniques by

a) Back-step welding
b) Skip welding
 Distortion prevention
Distortion - Best practice for fabrication corrective techniques

• using tack welds to set up and maintain the joint gap

• identical components welded back to back so welding can be
balanced about the neutral axis
• attachment of longitudinal stiffeners to prevent longitudinal
bowing in butt welds of thin plate structures
• where there is choice of welding procedure, process and
technique should aim to deposit the weld metal as quickly as
possible; MIG in preference to MMA or gas welding and
mechanised rather than manual welding
• in long runs, the whole weld should not be completed in one
direction; back-step or skip welding techniques should be used
Distortion corrective techniques
Distortion - mechanical corrective techniques

Use of press to correct bowing in T butt joint

 Distortion corrective techniques
Distortion - Best practice for mechanical corrective techniques

• Use packing pieces which will over correct the distortion so

that spring-back will return the component to the correct shape
• Check that the component is adequately supported during
pressing to prevent buckling
• Use a former (or rolling) to achieve a straight component or
produce a curvature
• As unsecured packing pieces may fly out from the press, the
following safe practice must be adopted:
- bolt the packing pieces to the platen
- place a metal plate of adequate thickness to intercept the
'missile'
- clear personnel from the hazard area
Distortion corrective techniques
Distortion - thermal corrective techniques

Localised heating to
correct distortion

Spot heating for

correcting buckling
Distortion corrective techniques
Distortion - thermal corrective techniques

Line heating to correct angular

distortion in a fillet weld

Use of wedge shaped heating

to straighten plate
 Distortion corrective techniques
Distortion - thermal corrective techniques

Wedge shaped heating to correct distortion

a) standard b) buckled edge of c) box fabrication

rolled steel plate
section
General guidelines:
•Length of wedge = two-thirds of the plate width
•Width of wedge (base) = one sixth of its length (base to apex)
 Distortion corrective techniques
Distortion - thermal corrective techniques

•use spot heating to remove buckling in thin sheet structures

•other than in spot heating of thin panels, use a wedge-shaped
heating technique
•use line heating to correct angular distortion in plate
•restrict the area of heating to avoid over-shrinking the component
•limit the temperature to 60° to 650°C (dull red heat) in steels to
prevent metallurgical damage
•in wedge heating, heat from the base to the apex of the wedge,
penetrate evenly through the plate thickness and maintain an even
temperature