A 3D thermal elastic-plastic welding analysis ACT (Application Customization Toolkit) was developed in ANSYS, making welding analysis more accessible. The welding analysis was performed using a decoupled method, separated into thermal and structural analyses. To validate the results, comparisons were made with previous studies for two types of welding: T-joint fillet welding and butt welding. Subsequently, the residual stress and deformation obtained from the welding analysis were applied as initial imperfections in a compression analysis to evaluate the ultimate compressive strength with conventional compression analysis. This comparison allowed for a more realistic assessment of the effects of deformation and residual stress distribution on the structural behaviours.
Keywords: 3D thermal elastic-plastic welding; T-joint fillet welding; residual stress; ultimate compressive strength; welding; welding deformation.