Numerical and experimental description of the welding residual stress field in tubular joints for fatigue assessment

In order to achieve fatigue resistant welded structures, it is necessary to manage and control welding process-related factors which affect the fatigue strength. These factors are sometimes present as welding defects and sometimes as inevitable residual stresses which are unwanted by-products of welding processes. This subject has been treated in welding research communities since the 1950s. However, the extent of this effect was unclear and is still a matter of debate. Having advanced predictive tools for accurate determining welding residual stresses will not only lead to the possibility of considering precise welding residual stress effects during life estimation but also can be useful to have effective measures for the subsequent mitigation or modification of the welding residual stress fields.