Investigation of fracture parameters for a surface-cracked multi-pass T-joint considering welding residual stress

A numerical simulation procedure was carried out to evaluate the fracture parameters for a surface-cracked thick-plate T-joint considering welding residual stress (WRS) effect. Welding calculation was performed to simulate the welded joint then the results were verified against the experiment taken from the literature. The effect of the location of the final weld pass on WRS distribution was also analyzed numerically. Stress analyses were conducted using an intact T-joint model under different mechanical loading patterns, to determine the location of the hot spot stress and thereafter the location of the surface crack. Subsequently, the fracture parameters were thoroughly addressed under different conditions including external loading only and a combination of external loading and WRS. The effect of weld angle on the behavior of fracture parameters was also discussed. The numerical calculations succeeded in explaining the fundamental fracture characteristics of a multi-pass T-joint with a surface crack.