Residual Stresses Especially in the Heat-Affected Zone of a Weld Seam at S355

Abstract Residual stresses in and near a weld seam are an important factor in the durability of the weld. In the heat-affected zone there can be a strong variation of residual stresses. Cracks start especially in the border weld to base material. It can be shown that all the stresses except the welding are tensile residual stresses which support crack initiation in the material. The different levels of stress in the different annealing zones (colors) can also be seen. Dedicated mapping of the residual stress starting at the middle of the seam up to the base material was carried out. Both directions parallel and perpendicular to the seam were measured, and a significant difference between the two directions can be seen. Compressive residual stresses are always on the seam, while tensile stresses are in the heat-affected zone.