Effect of Gradual Variation of Metal Composition on Stresses Generated in Weld Interfaces

Dissimilar metal joints formed by conventional welding creates residual stress at the interface and leads to an earlier failure than expected. The conventional methods are rapidly being replaced by advanced techniques, such as transition layer grading. This kind of transition grading aims to form the welding component akin to functionally graded material. The present paper aims to analyze different stress concentration conditions by varying temperatures, loads, and the number of transition layers. The material in the weld zone varied linearly when the number of layers was increased, which is analogous to functionally graded materials. The finite element model of a dissimilar metal welded pipe was simulated using ANSYS Workbench 14.5. Based on the executed simulations, it was observed that residual stress at the weld interface decreased as the number of layers increased up to a certain critical number of graded layers. Furthermore, negligible effect on stress reduction has been observed beyond this critical number of graded layers.