Numerical Investigation of Transient Temperature and Residual Stresses in Thin Dissimilar Aluminium Alloy Plates

The purpose of the present investigation is to assess transient temperature and residual stresses in Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) of dissimilar aluminium alloys (AA). A moving heat source model based on Goldak's double - ellipsoid heat flux distribution is utilised in finite element simulation of welding process. To solve the three dimensional thermal and mechanical equations, ANSYS Workbench software was used. Element death and birth code was written for modelling the amount of material added during the analysis. Effects of conduction, convection and radiation were considered in transient thermal analysis. Temperature dependent properties as thermal conductivity, heat capacity, yield stress, elastic modulus and thermal expansion were employed in the welding simulations. Based on the results, it was found that lower temperature and higher residual stresses were generated in AA 6061-T6 plate as compared to AA 5052-H32 plate.