Prediction of Welding Deformation of Ship Hull Blocks

Welding deformation reduces the accuracy of ship hull blocks and decreases productivity due to the need for correction work. Preparing an error-minimizing guide at the design stage will lead to higher quality as well as higher productivity. Therefore, developing a precise method to predict the weld deformation is an essential part of it. This paper proposes an efficient method for predicting the weld deformation of complicated structures based on the inherent strain theory combined with the finite element method. A simulation of a stiffened panel confirmed the applicability of this method to simple ship hull blocks.