Computational modelling of welding stresses, strains and process behaviour
Computational modelling of welding stresses, strains and process behaviour is a computational service for analysing welding, surfacing, friction stir welding, post-weld heat treatment, additive manufacturing and special electrometallurgy processes. The service supports prediction and interpretation of thermal fields, thermal cycles, residual stresses, welding distortions, stress-strain state, diffusion behaviour, defect acceptability and structural integrity of welded or thermally processed components. The service is intended to complement experimental welding, thermomechanical testing, mechanical testing and non-destructive inspection by providing validated or engineering-level computational models. It can be used for research studies, process optimization, comparison of technological regimes, assessment of critical welded structures, preparation of digital-twin workflows and support of publication or project deliverables.
What the user gets
The user receives an agreed computational modelling package. Depending on the task, the package may include prepared geometry or structural models, input data tables, finite-element model setup, calculation results, processed fields and curves, parameter tables, plots, interpretation notes and a short technical report.
Typical results may include temperature-time curves, thermal fields, heating and cooling rates, residual stress distributions, strain and deformation maps, welding distortion predictions, post-weld heat treatment effects, stress redistribution under operational loads, defect acceptability indicators, diffusion profiles, concentration distributions and comparison with experimental or inspection data.
For workflow-based tasks, the user may also receive calculation logs, model assumptions, software settings, scripts, workflow documentation, README files and metadata needed for verification, reuse or repository deposition.
Service category: Computational and Workflow Service
Hosting partner: Paton Electric Welding Institute
Related node / facility: Paton Mathematical Modelling Facility for Welding and Special Electrometallurgy
Resources used
- Computational welding mechanics and process modelling workflows
- GLEEBLE – 3800
- MTS 318.25 materials testing machine
- Technology/process dataset profile
Access modes
- Remote access
- Virtual access
- Data access
Typical data outputs
- Simulation input files
- Simulation output files
- Notebook
- Metadata record
- README file
- Dataset with DOI
FAIR requirements
Each modelling task should be accompanied by sufficient metadata to make the calculation understandable, reproducible and reusable. The user should provide material grade or composition, geometry, joint type, welding or processing parameters, heat-treatment conditions, loading conditions, boundary conditions, available experimental data, inspection data where relevant, and any restrictions on publication or reuse.
The service provider should document the modelling method, software environment, geometry assumptions, material-property data, heat-source or process model, boundary conditions, mesh information, solver settings, calculation date, responsible team, file formats, units and post-processing steps.
Recommended metadata elements include sample or structure ID, material system, joint type, process type, process parameters, geometry file, model version, calculation method, software version, input data sources, boundary conditions, data type, units, processing scripts, access status and reuse conditions. Where possible, outputs should be provided in reusable formats such as CSV, TXT, JSON, XLSX, VTK, STL, STEP, PNG, SVG or PDF, together with original model files when needed for verification or reprocessing.
User obligations
The user should provide a clear description of the research or engineering task and the expected modelling result before the work starts. The user should specify whether the main interest is thermal-cycle prediction, residual stress assessment, welding distortion, post-weld heat treatment, defect acceptability, service-life assessment, process optimization, diffusion modelling, digital-twin preparation or comparison with experimental data.
The user should provide all available technical information needed for modelling: material grade, chemical composition where available, geometry, dimensions, weld type, process parameters, heat-treatment conditions, restraint conditions, loading conditions, inspection results, measured data and known uncertainties.
The modelling scope, input assumptions, validation route, output format, deadlines, confidentiality conditions, authorship or acknowledgement rules and publication plans should be agreed in advance. The user should not treat modelling outputs as certified inspection conclusions unless this is explicitly included in the agreed engineering assessment procedure.