FE analysis of residual stress relaxation in a girth-welded duplex stainless steel pipe under cyclic loading

This study intends to characterize the residual stress relaxation in a girth-welded duplex stainless steel pipe exposed to cyclic loading. FE thermal simulation of the girth welding process is first performed to identify the weld-induced residual stresses. 3-D elastic-plastic FE analyses incorporated with the cyclic plasticity constitutive model which can describe the cyclic stress relaxation are next carried out to evaluate reconstruction of the residual stresses under cyclic mechanical loading. The results unveils that considerable reduction of the residual stresses in and around the girth weld occur even after the initial few loading cycles and degree of the stress relaxation is dependent on the magnitude of applied cyclic loading.