Influence of Initial and Welding Residual Stresses on Low Cycle Fatigue and Ratcheting Response Simulations of Elbows

Earlier studies [1] showed that the ANSYS software package customized with an advanced rate-independent constitutive model was unable to simulate some of the low-cycle fatigue responses of elbow components. Hence, simulations are performed to investigate the influence of manufacturing and welding residual stresses on elbow low-cycle fatigue responses. The sequentially coupled thermo-mechanical finite element analysis is performed to determine the initial residual stress states in elbows due to the elbow manufacturing processes and welding of elbows to straight pipes. Real-time girth-welding processes are taken into account to simulate the welding induced residual stress field. Incorporating these initial residual stresses in the computations, low-cycle fatigue and strain ratcheting responses are simulated by ANSYS. The simulation responses demonstrate that the influence of manufacturing and welding residual stresses in elbows on its low-cycle fatigue responses is negligible. Hence, the question remains what is missing in the simulation models that some of the elbow low-cycle fatigue responses cannot be simulated.