Distortion

Types and causes

This article covers several key issues on distortion in arc welded fabrications, especially basic
types of and factors affecting the degree of distortion.
Dishing of the steel plate between longitudinal stiffeners can be seen clearly on the bow of this
ship (Courtesy MOD).
What causes distortion?
ecause welding involves highly localised heating of !oint edges to fuse the "aterial, non#
unifor" stresses are set up in the co"ponent because of e$pansion and contraction of the
heated "aterial. %nitially, co"pressive stresses are created in the surrounding cold parent "etal
when the weld pool is for"ed due to the ther"al e$pansion of the hot "etal (heat affected
&one) ad!acent to the weld pool. 'owever, tensile stresses occur on cooling when the
contraction of the weld "etal and the i""ediate heat affected &one is resisted by the bulk of the
cold parent "etal.
The "agnitude of ther"al stresses induced into the "aterial can be seen by the volu"e change
in the weld area on solidification and subse(uent cooling to roo" te"perature. )or e$a"ple,
when welding CMn steel, the "olten weld "etal volu"e will be reduced by appro$i"ately *+
on solidification and the volu"e of the solidified weld "etal,heat affected &one ('-.) will be
reduced by a further /+ as its te"perature falls fro" the "elting point of steel to roo"
te"perature.
%f the stresses generated fro" ther"al e$pansion,contraction e$ceed the yield strength of the
parent "etal, localised plastic defor"ation of the "etal occurs. 0lastic defor"ation causes a
per"anent reduction in the co"ponent di"ensions and distorts the structure.
What are the main types of distortion?
Distortion occurs in si$ "ain for"s1
2ongitudinal shrinkage
Transverse shrinkage
-ngular distortion
owing and dishing
uckling
Twisting
The principal features of the "ore co""on for"s of distortion for butt and fillet welds are
shown.
Contraction of the weld area on cooling results in both transverse and longitudinal shrinkage.
3on#unifor" contraction (through thickness) produces angular distortion in addition to
longitudinal and transverse shrinkage.
)or e$a"ple, in a single 4 butt weld, the first weld run produces longitudinal and transverse
shrinkage and rotation. The second run causes the plates to rotate using the first weld deposit
as a fulcru". 'ence, balanced welding in a double side 4 butt !oint can be used to produce
unifor" contraction and prevent angular distortion.
5i"ilarly, in a single side fillet weld, non#unifor" contraction produces angular distortion of the
upstanding leg. Double side fillet welds can therefore be used to control distortion in the
upstanding fillet but because the weld is only deposited on one side of the base plate, angular
distortion will now be produced in the plate.
2ongitudinal bowing in welded plates happens when the weld centre is not coincident with the
neutral a$is of the section so that longitudinal shrinkage in the welds bends the section into a
curved shape. Clad plate tends to bow in two directions due to longitudinal and transverse
shrinkage of the cladding6 this produces a dished shape. Dishing is also produced in stiffened
plating. 0lates usually dish inwards between the stiffeners, because of angular distortion at the
stiffener attach"ent welds (see "ain photograph).
%n plating, long range co"pressive stresses can cause elastic buckling in thin plates, resulting
in dishing, bowing or rippling.
Distortion due to elastic buckling is unstable1 if you atte"pt to flatten a buckled plate, it will
probably 7snap7 through and dish out in the opposite direction.
Twisting in a bo$ section is caused by shear defor"ation at the corner !oints This is caused by
une(ual longitudinal ther"al e$pansion of the abutting edges. %ncreasing the nu"ber of tack
welds to prevent shear defor"ation often reduces the a"ount of twisting.
How much shall I allow for weld shrinkage?
%t is al"ost i"possible to predict accurately the a"ount of shrinking. 3evertheless, a 7rule of
thu"b7 has been co"posed based on the si&e of the weld deposit. 8hen welding steel, the
following allowances should be "ade to cover shrinkage at the asse"bly stage.
Transverse Shrinkage
Fillet Welds 9.:"" per weld where the leg length does not e$ceed *,; plate thickness
utt weld <.= to *"" per weld for >99 4 !oint, depending on nu"ber of runs
!ongitudinal Shrinkage
Fillet Welds 9.:"" per *" of weld
utt Welds *"" per *" of weld
%ncreasing the leg length of fillet welds, in particular, increases shrinkage.
What are the factors affecting distortion?
%f a "etal is unifor"ly heated and cooled there would be al"ost no distortion. 'owever,
because the "aterial is locally heated and restrained by the surrounding cold "etal, stresses
are generated higher than the "aterial yield stress causing per"anent distortion. The principal
factors affecting the type and degree of distortion, are1
0arent "aterial properties
-"ount of restraint
?oint design
0art fit#up
8elding procedure
"arent material properties
0arent "aterial properties which influence distortion are coefficient of ther"al e$pansion and
specific heat per unit volu"e. -s distortion is deter"ined by e$pansion and contraction of the
"aterial, the coefficient of ther"al e$pansion of the "aterial plays a significant role in
deter"ining the stresses generated during welding and, hence, the degree of distortion. )or
e$a"ple, as stainless steel has a higher coefficient of e$pansion than plain carbon steel, it is
"ore likely to suffer fro" distortion.
#estraint
%f a co"ponent is welded without any e$ternal restraint, it distorts to relieve the welding
stresses. 5o, "ethods of restraint, such as 7strong#backs7 in butt welds, can prevent "ove"ent
and reduce distortion. -s restraint produces higher levels of residual stress in the "aterial,
there is a greater risk of cracking in weld "etal and '-. especially in crack#sensitive "aterials.
$oint design
oth butt and fillet !oints are prone to distortion. %t can be "ini"ised in butt !oints by adopting a
!oint type which balances the ther"al stresses through the plate thickness. )or e$a"ple, a
double#sided in preference to a single#sided weld. Double#sided fillet welds should eli"inate
angular distortion of the upstanding "e"ber, especially if the two welds are deposited at the
sa"e ti"e.
"art fit%up
)it#up should be unifor" to produce predictable and consistent shrinkage. @$cessive !oint gap
can also increase the degree of distortion by increasing the a"ount of weld "etal needed to fill
the !oint. The !oints should be ade(uately tacked to prevent relative "ove"ent between the
parts during welding.
Welding procedure
This influences the degree of distortion "ainly through its effect on the heat input. -s welding
procedure is usually selected for reasons of (uality and productivity, the welder has li"ited
scope for reducing distortion. -s a general rule, weld volu"e should be kept to a "ini"u".
-lso, the welding se(uence and techni(ue should ai" to balance the ther"ally induced
stresses around the neutral a$is of the co"ponent.
The article was prepared by ill 2ucas in collaboration with Aeert 4erhaeghe and Bick 2eggatt.
@#"ail1 bill.lucasCtwi.co.uk