Experimentally Determined Deformations and Stresses in Narrow-Gap and Single-U Multi-Pass Butt-Welded Pipes

This paper describes a study of the multi-pass butt-welding of thick-walled pipes. Two different groove shapes were used: single-U and narrow-gap grooves. Strains were measured on both the pipe outer and inner surfaces during and after welding. Residual stresses and radial deflections were measured on the outer surface after welding. Measured parameters of the two different groove shapes are compared and discussed. Residual stresses at the weld center and radial deflections in the narrow-gap pipe were somewhat larger than those in the single-U pipe. The residual stress fields of both types of groove were found to be rotationally nonsymmetrical. The experimentally obtained residual stresses and radial deflections are compared with corresponding analytical and empirical results based on methods described in the literature and with numerical results for the same pipe from a separate study. Deviations between the measurements presented in this study and published results are discussed.