A Full-Field Residual Stress Profile Estimation Scheme for Pipe Girth Welds

For supporting fitness-for-service (FFS) assessment, this paper presents a method for providing a full field description of through-thickness residual stress profiles for pipe girth welds, beyond weld locations (e.g., at weld centerline and weld toe). The paper starts with a brief introduction of the finite element modeling procedure used in this study. Experimental validations are performed for a pipe weld geometry on which detailed experimental data have recently become available in the literature. Then, a large number of parametric residual stress analyses are performed to identify key parameters that govern through-thickness residual stress distribution characteristics. These parameters are not only shown to uniquely contribute to some of the important residual stress distribution characteristics of interest to FFS, but also can be formulated, to the first approximation, using basic mechanics and physics principle. Finally, a detailed application of the proposed full field residual stress estimation scheme is illustrated for various girth weld conditions.