FEM Research on Welding Thermal Deformation of Copper Alloy Sheet and Optimization of Welding Sequence

To reduce the residual stress and deformation of the copper alloy sheet after welding, and improve the welding quality of the copper alloy sheet, the finite element method (FEM) research on welding thermal deformation and welding sequence optimization was carried out. First, a finite element model of copper alloy sheet welding was established based on ANSYS, the mechanical property parameters of the model at high temperature were determined, and the thermal–structural coupling calculation was performed on the model. Then, the change trend and magnitude of the residual stress and deformation of the model after welding were analyzed. Finally, different welding sequence schemes were designed, and numerical simulation calculations were carried out. The results of the welding sequence solution show that the change trend of the residual stress after welding of the base metal under different welding sequences is basically the same; repeated heating of the base metal at the same position causes large residual stress; the weldment vertical plate is subjected to opposing forces in the x-axis and y-axis directions at the same time. Among four welding schemes, the welding scheme that alternately welds symmetrically from the start and end positions of the weld seam to the middle position of the plate causes the least welding deformation. Compared with the other three schemes, its deformation reduces by 26.6%, 18.3%, and 19.4%, respectively.