MODELING OF MICROSTRUCTURE EVOLUTION, RESIDUAL-STRESSES AND DISTORTIONS IN 6082-T6 ALUMINUM WELDMENTS

This article illustrates the applications of process modeling for pred iction of microstructure evolution, residual stresses and distortions in welding of hollow AA6082-T6 extrusions. The model consists of three components, i.e., a numerical heat flow model, a microstructure model and a mechanical model that are sequentially coupled. It is shown tha t the model adequately predicts the temperature and local strength dis tribution. The calculated distortions were found to depend strongly on the welding sequence. Moreover, the local softening of the heat-affec ted zone was shown to have a significant effect on the simulated resid ual stress distribution.