Abstract
As it has been well appreciated from the viewpoint of efficiency, The weld-induced deformation control is one of the most important issues in marine structure production. In the case of thin plate block, weld-induced deformation is more serious than in the case of relatively thick plate block. The heat affect zone of thin plates is wider than that of thick plates with the same heat input. Among weld-induced deformations, the buckling deformation by the shrinkage and residual stress in the weld line direction is one of the most serious deformation types. This paper is concerned with controlling buckling deformations for the thin plate fillet welds, by using the tensioning method. A numerical analysis was carried out to illustrate several dominant buckling modes due to compressive residual stress in the fillet weldsof thin plates. Then, weld tests were carried out for 20 specimens with varying plate thickness, and with different magnitudes and directions for the tension load. The results graphically represented to shaw the effect of the tensioning method in reducing the weld-induced deformation. From the present findings, it was seen that the tensioning method is a useful way to control weld-induced deformations in the fillet welds of thin plates.
