ABSTRACT

Distortion in weldments results from non-uniform expansion and contraction of

weld metal and adjacent base metal during the heating and cooling cycle of the welding
process. During welding regions immediately below the arc expand but expansions are
prohibited by the surrounding regions heated to low temperature causing compressive
plastic strains which are the causes of distortion that remains after the specimen is cooled
down to room temperature.
The most effective way of reducing distortion is to control the formation of plastic
strains produced in regions near the weld. The difficulty here is that the necessary
control must be made during welding. If the control is correct, the final distortion will be
reduced on the other hand if the control is incorrect, the final distortion will be increased.
In order to economically produce dimensionally acceptable assemblies, weld
distortion must be predictable to allow reasonably dimensional compensation. The
predicted angular distortion is effectively used to control angular distortion by different
method like pre-bending, elastic pre-bending, sequencing etc.
Among the different types of distortion, investigation is focused on angular
distortion the most common type of distortion, encounter during welding fabrication.
Angular distortion causes dimensional changes and mismatch of joint during welding
fabrication. Angular distortion occurs when transverse shrinkage is not uniform in the
thickness direction. Hence the development of proper techniques for controlling of
distortion would lead to more quality and reliable structures. If a reliable prediction
method were available it would enable a fabrication engineer to prevent the angular
distortion during welding fabrication. Early detection of weld distortion permits
economical correction. If left for final inspection after the fabrication, a major loss of
time and money usually results.
Experiments have been conducted on T-tvpe multi-pass fillet welds using
manual metal arc welding, submerged arc welding and CO2 welding process on structural
steels. Data collected from the experiments are compared with Okerblom’s predicted
method of angular distortion . In angular distortion analysis, the effects of fillet size,
flange thickness, process influence are investigated.
 Angular distortion in full penetration T-type joint with unequal V- groove has
been investigated. The precision reliable prediction method presented, in this thesis
would enable a fabrication engineer to prevent the angular distortion during welding
fabrication. The angular change in the web (vertical member of T-type joint) has been
studied rather than the flange (horizontal member of T-type joint) in normal
circumstances. The angular change of the web during and after welding was measured
using on line data acquisition system. In order to control angular distortion definite
sequencing methods were effectively used.

A new model has been proposed to predict the angular distortion in single 'V" butt
joint welds. Scatter diagram also drawn to show the arrangement of observed angular
distortion with predicted angular distortion.

Effects of w eld conditions on the w eld head geometry in submerged arc welding w ere
investigated. The effects of heat input on depth of penetration and reinforcement height
were discussed. Influences of current lev els in depth of penetration and reinforcement
height were investigated. Effects of arc travel speed on depth of penetration and bead
width were investigated.