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Residual Stress Relief in High-Strength Steel Welded Joints: Creep-Based Material Modeling and Post-Weld Treatment
Penglong Ding1,2, Silu Zheng3, Jiahe Zhou3
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 13, 2026
Summary
High-temperature creep tests on ship hull steel reveal that post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) effectively reduces residual stress, outperforming hammer peening for enhanced structural integrity.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Mechanical Engineering
- Metallurgy
Background:
- Welding induces residual stress, compromising structural integrity.
- Understanding high-temperature creep damage in 600 MPa-grade ship hull steel is crucial for structural reliability.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate high-temperature creep damage evolution in ship hull steel base metal.
- Analyze residual stress evolution in welded joints using a calibrated creep constitutive model.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) and hammer peening in mitigating residual stress.
Main Methods:
- Conducted high-temperature creep tests (450-550 °C).
- Developed and calibrated a creep constitutive model.
- Integrated the model into finite element simulations for residual stress analysis.
- Compared the effects of PWHT and hammer peening on residual stress reduction.
Main Results:
- Creep deformation dominated by dislocation glide/climb; damage by void/crack formation (450-550 °C).
- Peak residual stress in as-welded joints exceeded yield strength.
- PWHT significantly reduced peak residual stress, showing nonlinear dependence on time and temperature.
- Hammer peening provided localized stress relief.
Conclusions:
- PWHT is more effective than hammer peening for overall residual stress relief in high-strength steel welded joints.
- Findings provide a basis for optimizing post-weld treatments to enhance structural integrity.
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