Residual Stress Redistribution Analysis in the Repair Welding of AA6082-T6 Aluminum Alloy Joints: Experiment and Simulation

Residual stress has a three-dimensional scale effect (length, depth, and width) in the process of repair welding, which has a detrimental impact on the service of the aluminum alloy welded structures in high-speed trains. This paper aims to systematically analyze the effects of the repair welding dimension on the residual stress redistribution and obtain the optimal repair welding principles. A combination of blind-hole drilling method and stress linearization in BS7910 was adopted to investigate residual stress redistribution under various repair welding dimensions. The results indicate that repair welding dimension was in accordance with the principle of “SNL (shallow, narrow and long)” and the optimal repair length, depth, and width of butt joints in this study were 15t, 0.25t, and t, respectively (t is the plate thickness of butt joints).