DEVELOPMENT OF A PRACTICAL METHOD FOR THE ESTIMATION OF WELD INDUCED CRACK IN THICK PLATE WELDMENTS

A practical method for evaluating the possibility of the occurrence of cracking in actual thick-plate T-joint weldments is presented in this study. Systematic experiments based on the method of the design of experiment are conducted in order to investigate the crack tendency in relation to typical welding parameters such as diffusible hydrogen, restraint intensity, preheating temperature and so on. The elastic analysis using the [mite element techniques is employed to quantify the restraint intensities of the specimens. The defined restraint intensities are treated in numerical way for the sake of considering the most uncertain factor among some major factors that govern the cracking phenomena due to welding. The critical plane for judgment of the crack occurrence or crack density is presented as a function of typical welding parameters including determined restraint intensities. The results of numerical estimation by the proposed method for the experimental specimens show the usefulness as a practical tool in welding induced crack problem having extensive uncertainties.