Numerical and experimental investigation on the weld-induced deformation and residual stress in stiffened plates with brackets

The objective of this work is to access the importance of an accurate prediction of the weld-induced residual stresses and deformations based on numerical simulations and experiments. After the welding tests of stiffened plates with and without triangular brackets, the weld-induced deformation and residual stresses are numerically investigated by a nonlinear thermo-elasto-plastic approach. The present numerical results of the temperature distributions and vertical deformation show good agreement with the experimental measurements. The empirical formula proposed in the present work is proved to have the ability to provide accurate prediction of the residual stress distributed in the stiffened plate. It is concluded that the presence of the brackets has small influence on the residual stress distribution in the stiffened plate, whereas the maximum deformation of the studied stiffened plate with two transverse brackets reduces 74 % in the experimental measurements and 67 % in the numerical simulation.