Analysis of residual stress in SS321 laser butt-welded plates using finite element analysis

The welding process used in industries like automobile, defence, nuclear industries etc. is important in terms of temperature and residual stress. In this research, stainless steel was utilized to simulate the weldability in the determination of the Fusion Zone's melting temperature with input power and process duration. In this present analysis, the 3D model has been developed for butt joints using the Laser beam welding process with Laser power (kW), Welding speed (m/min), and Spot size (mm) as input. The thermo-mechanical analysis is carried out for SS321 base materials using a volumetric Gaussian heat source model. The simulation is carried out through, APDL coding using ANSYS™ software. The thermal-induced structural distributions of the weldment are analyzed. The peak temperatures are observed at the fusion zone with a narrow heat-affected zone. The residual stresses are within the safe limits of the base material.