DISTORTION

IN WELDING
AND ITS
CONTROL

VAISAKH BALAKRISHNAN
214116019

Introduction: Distortion
in 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 Welding

3

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
High cost of rectifying deformations

Fig. Inherent strain in welding (Ref: Zuheir Barsoum et al)

Significance of Material Properties

5

Properties of
Materials

Effects
(Requirements for Less
Distortion)

Coefficient of Thermal
Expansion ()

Lower coefficient of thermal expansion

Thermal Conductivity (K)

High Thermal Conductivity leads to low

thermal gradients

Yield Strength (y)

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

6

Factors affecting
Volume of Heated
Metal

Effects
(Requirements for Less
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-up

Uniform Edge Preparations to allow

consistent shrinkage along the joint,
Close Fit-Ups

Welding Procedure

Mechanised, Single Pass, High Speed

Schematic View of
Distortions in Welding
7

Longitudinal Shrinkage
8

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
Figure: Longitudinal
Also preheat to even out the cooling
Shrinkage
rates
Straightening press, jacks, clamps should
be used

Longitudinal Shrinkage
9

Butt Welds

L= longitudinal shrinkage, mm
I = welding current, amps
T = length of the weld, mm
t=plate thickness, mm

Figure: Butt Joint

Fillet Welds

L = longitudinal Shrinkage
Figure: T-joint with two
Aw = Cross-sectional area of the weld metalfillet welds
Ap = Cross-sectional area of the resisting structure

Transverse Shrinkage
10

Shrinkage running into or inside a weld, transverse to the

weld axis direction

Cause: Constraints applied to weld-joints

Butt Welds :

t = transverse Shrinkage

w = Cross-sectional area of
weld, mm2

t = plate thicknes, mm

Figure: Transverse
Shrinkage

Figure: Butt Joint

Transverse Shrinkage
11

Fillet Weld :

For a T-joint with two fillet welds :

t = 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 :

t = transverse Shrinkage

l= leg of fillet weld, mm

t = plate thickness, mm

Figure: Fillet weld in Lap

Joint

Angular Distortion
12

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 Figure: Angular Distortion in Butt

Weld-joint
flange width, weld leg length and
flange thickness

Depends Upon :

Width and depth of fusion zone

relative to plate thickness

Type of joint

Weld pass sequence

Thermo-mechanical material

Figure: Angular Distortion in Fillet

Weld-Joint

13

Bowing or Longitudinal
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
14

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
15

Progressively welding
material at
widely different heat inputs

Expanding & Contracting

Zones in arc butt welding

Here, Manual welds are termed as slow welds, while

Automatic welds are termed as fast welds

Buckling Distortions
16

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

Twisting Distortions
17

Twisting is the due to low torsional resistance on

thin materials

To satisfy the conditions of a member that

has outer edges longer than its centreline,
the member must twist

18

Control of Distortion in
Weldments

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

19

Control of Distortion in
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

20

Control of Distortion in
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

21

Control of Distortion in
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

22

Control of Distortion in
Weldments

Counter or Opposing Set-up

Figure: Counter Set-up for Angular Distortion Figure: Warpage in a T-beam and
Suggested Counter setup

23

Control of Distortion in
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

Fixing :

Figure: Water Cooled Jig for rapid

removal of heat to control distortion in
welding shheet metal

Fixing parts, to be joined by welding, in a frame or rigidly as

possible

To reduce back-spring shrinkage

24

Correction of Distorted
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
Methods

Thermal
Methods

Presses, Jack Screws ,

Straightening Rolls,
Sledges, Special
Fixtures

Powerful
oil or gas
burners

25

Fig.The effect of the welding

deformation

Fig. Out of plane

References
26

Barsoum, Z., Ghanadi, M. and Balawi, S., 2015.

Managing welding induced distortionComparison
of different computational approaches.Procedia
Engineering,114, pp.70-77.
Pazooki, A. M. A., M. J. M. Hermans, and I. M.
Richardson. "Control of welding distortion during
gas metal arc welding of thin plates by stress
engineering."The International Journal of Advanced
Manufacturing Technology(2016): 1-19. - A. M. A.
Pazooki et al
Park, J. U., and H. W. Lee. "Effects of initial condition
of steel plate on welding deformation and residual
stress due to welding."Journal of mechanical
science and technology21.3 (2007): 426-435.

THANK YOU

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