Abstract
Since the preflex beam is fabricated through welding, the pre-compressive stresses that should occur over the concrete pier are diminished by the welding residual stresses. Therefore welding residual stresses must be relieved during the fabrication. Therefore, the analysis and examination of the accurate welding residual stress distribution characteristics are necessary. In this study, accurate distribution of welding residual stress of the preflex beam is analyzed by the finite element method, using 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional elements. Further, the thermo-mechanical behavior of the preflex beam is also studied. After the finite element analysis, real distribution of welding residual stress is measured using the sectioning method, and then is compared with the simulation results. The distribution of welding residual stress by finite analysis agreed well with the experimental results.
