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DISTORTION IN
WELDING
SUBJECT : ANALYSIS OF MANUFACTURING
PROCESSES
 CONTENTS
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 Introduction: Distortion in Welding

 Significance of Material Properties
 Influence of Welding Processes & Procedures
 Types of Welding Distortions
 Welding Suitability Index based on Distortion
 Measurement of Distortion
 Control of Distortion in Weldments
 Correction of Distorted Weldments
 Future Scope in Measuring Weld Distortions
 Introduction: Distortion in
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Welding
Q. What is Distortion ?
 Any unwanted physical change or departure from

specifications in a fabricated structure or component, as

a consequence of welding

Figure: Distortion in Sheet due to Welding Figure: Simulation for T-Joint Welding
 Introduction: Distortion in
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Welding
 Main Causes of Distortion
 Non-Uniform Expansion and Contraction, i.e. Shrinkage
due to plastic thermal strain, of the weld metal and base
metal during the heating and cooling cycle
 Internal stresses formed in base metal due to removing
restraints given to welds by fixed components surrounding
it
So, both Welding processes & procedures and Material
properties
affect the extent of distortion

 Effects of Distortion:
 Complicate further fabrication
 Reduced application of the structure
 Significance of Material
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Properties

Properties of Materials Effects

(Requirements for Less
Distortion)
Coefficient of Thermal Lower coefficient of thermal expansion
Expansion (α)

Thermal Conductivity (K) High Thermal Conductivity leads to low

thermal gradients

Yield Strength (ơy) Lower the yield strength of the parent

material, lower the residual stresses causing
distortions
Modulus of Elasticity (E) Higher the Modulus of Elasticity (stiffness) of
the parent material
 Influence of Welding Processes &
Procedures
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Factors affecting Effects

Volume of Heated (Requirements for Less
Metal Distortion)
Welding Processes •Concentrated heat source
•High welding speeds
•Deep penetration
•Single Pass Welding, Least Weld runs
Amount of Weld Metal •Minimum amount of weld metal

Welding Speed Maximum Welding speed Minimizes heat

spread and built-up, Solidification of weld
metal should be controlled
Edge Preparation and Fit- Uniform Edge Preparations to allow consistent
up shrinkage along the joint, Close Fit-Ups

Welding Procedure • Mechanised, Single Pass, High Speed

 Longitudin
al
Shrinkage

Buckling Transverse
and Shrinkage
Twisting

TYPES OF
WELDING
DISTORTIO
NS

Rotational Angular
Distortion Distortion

Longitudin
al
Distortions/
Bowing or
Bending
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 Schematic View of Distortions in
Welding
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 Longitudinal Shrinkage
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 Shrinkage in the direction of the weld axis

 Cause:
 Preheat or fast cooling problem

 Shrinkage stresses in high constraint areas

 Prevention:
 Weld toward areas of less constraint

 Weld short length

 Also preheat to even out the cooling rates Figure: Longitudinal

Shrinkage
 Straightening press, jacks, clamps should be
used
 Longitudinal Shrinkage
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 Butt Welds

• ẟL= longitudinal shrinkage, mm

• I = welding current, amps
• T = length of the weld, mm
• t=plate thickness, mm
Figure: Butt Joint

 Fillet Welds

• ẟL = longitudinal Shrinkage
• Aw = Cross-sectional area of the weld metal Figure: T-joint with two fillet
• welds
Ap = Cross-sectional area of the resisting structure
 Transverse Shrinkage
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 Shrinkage running into or inside a weld, transverse to the weld axis

direction
 Cause: Weld metal hardness problem,
Constraints applied to weld-joints

Figure: Transverse
Shrinkage
 Butt Welds :

 ẟt = transverse Shrinkage
 ∆w = Cross-sectional area of weld,
mm2 Figure: Butt Joint
 t = plate thicknes, mm
 Transverse Shrinkage
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 Fillet Weld :

 For a T-joint with two fillet welds :

 ẟt = transverse Shrinkage
 l= leg of fillet weld, mm
 t = plate thickness, mm
Figure: T-joint with two fillet
welds
 For fillet weld(s) in Lap Joint :

 ẟt = transverse Shrinkage
 l= leg of fillet weld, mm
 t = plate thickness, mm
Figure: Fillet weld in Lap Joint
 Longitudinal Vs Transverse
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Shrinkage
Longitudinal Shrinkage Transverse Shrinkage

Butt • 3mm per 3m of weld • 1.5 to 3mm per weld for 60°
Welds V joint, depending on number
of runs

• Amount of transverse shrinkage in a butt weld is much more (i.e.

1000th times of the weld length) than the longitudinal shrinkage

Fillet • 0.8mm per 3m of weld • 0.8mm per weld where the

Welds leg length does not exceed 3/4
plate thickness

• Increasing the leg length of fillet welds increases shrinkage

 Angular Distortion
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 Weld tends to be wider at the top than

the bottom, causing more solidification
shrinkage and thermal contraction
 For Double-V Edge Butt weld-joint, it
depends upon root face and root gap
 Fillet weld-joints, it depends upon
flange width, weld leg length and
flange thickness Figure: Angular Distortion in Butt Weld-
joint
 Depends Upon :
 Width and depth of fusion zone relative
to plate thickness
 Type of joint
 Weld pass sequence
 Thermo-mechanical material properties
Figure: Angular Distortion in Fillet Weld-
 Heat input per unit length of weld, Joint
 Angular Distortion
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 Occurs at butt, lap, T, corner joints due to single-sided as well as

asymmetrical double-sided welding
 Prevention:
 Reducing volume of weld metal

 Using double-V joint and alternate welding

 Placing welds around neutral axis

 Presetting: By compensating the amount of distortion to occur in

welding
 Elastic pre-springing can reduce angular changes after restraint
is removed.
 Preheating and post weld treatment
 Bowing or Longitudinal
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Bending
 Weld line does not coincide with neutral axis of a weld
structure
 Longitudinal shrinkage of the weld metal induces bending
moments
 Amount of distortion depends on :
 Shrinkage moment
 Resistance of the member to bending

A = cross-sectional area of the weld,mm2

d = distance from C.G. to outermost fibre, mm
L = length of the weld, mm
I = Moment of Inertia of the section, mm4
Figure: Longitudinal Bending
 Rotational Distortion
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 In this, sheets being butt welded either come closer to each other or
the distance between them is widened
 Depends upon:
 Thickness of parent material
 Temperature difference between a molten pool and the unheaten parent
material (difference in heat flow)
 Speed of Welding,
 Heat Source

Figure: Rotational Distortions

 Rotational Distortion
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Progressively welding Expanding & Contracting Zones in

material at arc butt welding
widely different heat inputs

Here, Manual welds are termed as slow welds, while Automatic

welds are termed as fast welds
 Buckling Distortions
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 When thin plates are welded, considerable residual stresses occur in

areas away from the weld and cause “Buckling”
 Occurs when Specimen Length exceeds the Critical Length for a given
thickness
 Amount of deformation of Buckling distortion is much greater than that
in Bending
 Buckling due to welding of a panel increases directly as the thickness
decreases

Figure: Bucking Distortion Figure: Relationship for buckling

distortion of butt weld for different
 Twisting Distortions
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 Twisting is the due to low torsional resistance on thin

materials
When a weld is made along the centre
of a member, the weld area tends to
shrink and become shorter

To satisfy the conditions of a member that

has outer edges longer than its centreline,
the member must twist
 Buckling And Twisting
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 Prevention:
 Minimize Shrinkage by decreasing volume of weld
metal and highest compatible speed
 Keep the length of the welded member as short as
practical
 Incorporate torsional resistances to twisting as much
feasible
 Welding Suitability Index
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 Welding Suitability Index based on Distortion

(λƐ)

where,
Tm, a, α, E, ơy, refers to material under consideration
Tm*, a*, α*, E*, ơy* refers to those of reference material
Tm: Melting Temperature, (°C)
a : Thermal Diffusivity, (mm2 / sec)
α : Thermal Expansion, (1/°C) *10-6
E : Elastic Modulus, (kN/mm2)
ơ : Yield Limit, (N/mm2)
 Welding
Melting Thermal Thermal Elastic Suitability
Temperature, Diffusivity, a Expansion, α Modulus, E Yield Limit, Indices in
Base Metal Tm (°C) (mm2 / sec) (1/°C) *10-6 (kN/mm2) ơy, (N/mm2) Distortion
Low Alloy Steel 1520 7.5-9.5 11 210 200-700 1
High Alloy Steel 1400 5.0-7.5 16 200 250-550 0.86
Aluminium Alloy 600 75-100 24 65 80-280 0.01
Titanium Alloy 1800 6 8.5 110 500-700 1.08
Copper Alloy 1080 120 18 130 30-420 0.02
Nickel Alloy 1435 15 13 215 120-630 0.43

Welding Suitability Indices in

Distortion
1.2

0.8

0.6 Welding Suitability

Indices in Distortion
0.4

0.2

0
23 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
 Measurement of Distortion
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 Distortion in the post weld cooled state is determined by

applying length and angular measuring techniques
 Transverse and Longitudinal Shrinkage are determined by
Measuring Tape
 Angular Shrinkage is measured on a measuring plate by
means of straight edge set agaisnt the component (as shown
in below figure)

Figure: Measuring Longitudinal Figure: Measuring Angular Distortions

& Transverse Shrinkage
 Measurement of Distortion
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 Measuring Bending or Angular Distortion

Figure: Measuring Angular Distortions

Figure: Measuring Angular Distortions or

Bending
Figure: Measuring Bending
 Measurement of Distortion
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 Circumferential
measurements on spherical
and cylindrical shells are
performed by string wrapped
around the structure
Figure: Distortions in Circumferential
 Vertically extended
components, e.g. Pillars,
supports and tank walls,
inclinations and deflections
are measured by means of
strings hanging exactly
vertically and tensioning
weight immersing in water
Figure: Distortions in vertically Extended
 Measurement of Distortion
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 Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)

Figure: Anticipated displacements

Figure: LVDT set-up with Workpiece

Dimensions

Figure: Measured results (FEM vs LVDT)

 Measurement of Distortion
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 Small Scale Distortions using a Stereoscopic

Video Imaging system

Figure: 3d deformation measurement using a stereoscopic video imaging

system
 Control of Distortion in
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Weldments
 Welding Residual stresses and Welding Distortion behave in
a contrary way
 Least root gap:
 As small as possible, but sufficient for good penetration
 Excessive gaps should be avoided
 Included angle should not exceed 60°
 For heavy sections, double-V preparation should be preferred
 Control of Distortion in
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Weldments
 Tack Welding
 Sufficiently long tack welds
transmit shrinkage forces
 Tack weld length should be
two-three times the plate
thickness
 Preheating, slag removal and
further defect removal
methods are employed to
counter undesired
phenomenon due to tack weld
 Narrow Groove Section in
Welding
 Least as possible to produce least
heat concentration
 U shape groove is preferable than
Vee shape
 Symmetrical weld groove reduces
angular shrinkage, but residual
stresses are increased
 Double-sided fillet weld is selected
over single-sided fillet weld
 Control of Distortion in
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Weldments
 Direction of Welding :
 Away from the point of restraint and towards the point of maximum
freedom
 Weld Metal Deposited :
 No excess metal should be deposited

 Block Sequence and Cascade Sequence :

 To deposit long welds of high thickness
 Layer deposited until the effective throat thickness is achieved

Figure: Block Figure: Cascade

Sequence Sequence
 Control of Distortion in
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Weldments
 Welding Sequnce :
 For large surface area consisting of several
plates, transverse seams should be welded
first followed by longitudinal seams

 In welding I- or H- beam joints within each

web plate and flange are to welded first, Figure: Welding Sequence
followed by butt joints between web plates for large plates
and flanges of a beam

Figure: Welding Sequence for I or H Beam

 Control of Distortion in
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Weldments
 For cylindrical vessel, longitudinal seams
should be welded first, followed by the
circumferential seams

Figure: Welding Sequence for cylindrical

vessel
 In welding frames of different length and thicknesses, least
distortionwould result if weld 1 & 2 are done simultaneously followed by
3 & 4, as shown in given figure

Figure: Various Welding

Sequence for Welding
Frames
 Control of Distortion in
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Weldments
 Back- Step Welding Sequence :
 Measure to counteract the wedge shaped-opening and closing(rotational
distortion)
 Reduces transverse and longitudinal shrinkage
 Used widely in fabrication of large structures, such as ships, storage
tanks

Figure: Back-Step Welding Sequence

 Control of Distortion in
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Weldments
 Counter or Opposing Set-up

Figure: Counter Set-up for Angular Distortion Figure: Warpage in a T-beam and
Suggested Counter setup
 Control of Distortion in
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Weldments
 Distortion control in Thin Plates and Sheets
 Used in light gauges
 Copper abstract heat from weld
reducing heating and warpage or
buckling of the plates
 Water-cooled jig, Copper Clamps,
Copper tubes used

Figure: Water Cooled Jig for rapid removal of

heat to control distortion in welding shheet
metal
 Fixing :
 Fixing parts, to be joined by welding, in a frame or rigidly as possible
 To reduce back-spring shrinkage
 Correction of Distorted
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Weldments
 If a weldment warps despite the precautions taken, there are
ways and means of correcting the defect using one of the
following two methods:

Methods for Correction of

Distorted Weldments

Mechanical Thermal
Methods Methods

Presses, Jack Screws Powerful

Oxy-
, Straightening Rolls, Carbon oil or
acetylen
Sledges, Special Arc gas
e torch
Fixtures burners
 Future Scope
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 Artificial Neural Networks used to measure the distortion

more precisely
 Mechanised techniques with proper simulation can give
least distortion in the welded product
 References
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 R. S. Parmar, Welding Engineering and Technology, Khanna

Publishers, 2010
 Zhili Fen, Processes and mechanisms of welding residual
stress and distortion, 2005, Pg 209-216
 airproducts.com
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