Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the variables influencing the thermal relaxation welded aluminum sheet

Welding is very important in the aerospace industry and is widely used in aerospace structures. One of the problems that most industries are facing is created residual stress by the welding process. Residual stresses in the surrounding areas of welding can cause cracks and crack growth so identifying and evaluating residual stresses in the welded structures is necessary. There are different methods for determining residual stress. In this paper, laboratory and numerical methods were presented for determining the residual stress. Then, the welding process of two aluminum sheets of 6061-T6 alloy has been done and the residual stresses have been obtained by drilling method. Welding is done in two passes and by spot welding, the first, the end and the middle of the weld line are connected to prevent the sheets from moving. Also, the welding process of the two aluminum sheets was simulated in 3D in the ABAQUS finite element software and the residual stresses were extracted. All conditions in the finite element analysis are similar to the welding conditions in the laboratory. Results show high accuracy in the modeling of finite element processes in the welding process. Finally, in the finite element method, thermal stress is modeled and optimal parameters are extracted for the above operations.