Evolutions of temperature field and stress field in narrow gap oscillating laser welding process based on equivalent heat source

With the increased demand for high-performance thick high-strength steel structures in high-end offshore equipment, narrow gap oscillating laser welding with the advantage of high power density and satisfied penetration depth has attracted considerable attention. A thermal-elastic-plastic finite element model was established to calculate the narrow gap oscillating laser welding process of 30-mm-thick high-strength steel, which requires a large amount of computational time cost. To increase the computational efficiency, two equivalent heat source models were founded to replace the laser oscillation. The temperature field and stress-strain field were analyzed. The accuracy of the equivalent heat source model was verified from the weld seam profile and residual stress distribution curves. Results showed that the simulated results were in good agreement with the actual results. With the number of welding passes increasing, the cross-section shape of the molten pool changed from an elongated shape to an arc shape, and the groove gap on the top surface was reduced from 4.82 mm before welding to 3.18 mm after welding. The maximum equivalent residual stress, with the value of 669 MPa, was distributed in the middle and upper parts of the weld seam as well as the root. The longitudinal residual stresses exhibited tensile stresses in the weld seam zone. Due to the upward bending of the workpiece, the transverse residual stresses showed compressive stresses on the top surface of the weld seam and maximum tensile stresses with the value of 806 MPa at the bottom of the weld seam.