Weld Strength V182.

magnus.gustafsson@edrmedeso.com
Weld Strength - Overview

• Weld Strength
• Target application: Mechanical
• Description: Pre and Post processing tool to create weld contacts,
imprints, build solid fillet welds and evaluate weld strength
according to Eurocode 3 or user defined codes for fillet and butt
welds. All types of FE-models can be used; shell/solid,
contact/multi-body, with or without weld geometry.

• The version of the App and the supported versions of ANSYS are the
ones indicated on the App Store.
ACT App Store

• https://appstore.ansys.com/shop/ACTApps_act%20apps
• Great place to get started
− A library of helpful extensions available to any ANSYS customer
− New apps added regularly
− Applications made available in either binary format (.wbex file) or binary
plus scripted format (Python and XML files)
− Scripted extensions are great examples
− Documentation and training materials available on the ANSYS Customer
Portal:
https://support.ansys.com/AnsysCustomerPortal/en_us/Downloads/ACT
+Resources
Information

• Please pay attention to paragraph 9 of the CLICKWRAP SOFTWARE

LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR ACS EXTENSIONS regarding TECHNICAL
ENHANCEMENTS AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT (TECS): “TECS is not
included with the Program(s)”

• To report any issue or provide feedback related to this app please

contact:
magnus.gustafsson@edrmedeso.com
 Binary App Installation (1)
Installing from the ACT Start Page:
1. From the project page, select the
“ACT Start Page” option
2. Click on “Extension Manager”
3. Press “+” symbol in the top right corner
4. It will open a file dialog to select the
appropriate “*.wbex” binary file
5. The extension is installed

Loading the extension:

1. From the Extension Manager,
click on your extension and choose
‘Load Extension’
2. The extension is loaded
Notes:
• The extension to be installed will be stored in the following location:
%AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions (Example for [version]: v190)
• The installation will create a folder in this location, in addition to the .wbex file
 Binary App Installation (2)

Installing from the Extensions menu:

1. From the Extensions menu, select the “Install
Extension…” option
2. It will open a file dialog to select the appropriate
“*.wbex” binary file
3. Click “Open” to install the extension

Loading the extension:

1. From the Extension Manager,
click on your extension and choose ‘Load Extension’
2. The extension is loaded

Notes:
• The extension to be installed will be stored in the following location:
%AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions (Example for [version]: v190)
• The installation will create a folder in this location, in addition to the .wbex file
 Binary App Installation (3)
• Once the binary extension is installed at default location, one can move the *.wbex and the folder to any
other location
– Default path: %AppData%\Ansys\v190\ACT\extensions
– New path: Any location on your machine, shared drive etc.
• All users interested in using the extension need to include that path in their Workbench Options
1. In the “Tools” menu, select the “Options…”
2. Select “Extensions” in the pop up panel
3. Add the path under “Additional Extensions Folders”

3
2
Define additional folders in which ACT
will search for extensions in order to
expose them in the Extension Manager
1
Notes:
• During the scan of the available extensions, the folders will be analyzed according to the following order:
1. The application data folder(e.g. %AppData%\Ansys\[version]\ACT\extensions)
2. The additional folders defined in the “Additional Extension Folders” property
3. The installation folder
4. The “extensions” folder part of the current Workbench project (if the project was previously saved with
the extension)
• If an extension is available in more than one of these locations, the 1st one according to the scan order is used
ERROR starting paid apps
• Paid apps needs a license in order to be activated in a project. It is a floating license of same type as for all other ANSYS
products and is limited in number of users (seats) and supported ANSYS versions.
• If you get this error: “An error occurred during loading the App name extension.” look in the Extensions Log File
(Extensions>View Log File) to see if you managed to check out the app license. Possible errors are:
– “Request name act_app_license does not exist in the licensing pool”
App license is not installed or license server not restarted after install or no app license available.
Solution: Start the “Client ANSLIC_ADMIN Utility” and list the license status.
– “License server system does not support this version of this feature”
Your are running a newer version of ANSYS than what is supported in the license. When buying the app you are
entitled to run current version plus one major upgrade, i.e. buying an app in version 17.0 will allow usage up to 18.2.
Solution: If you have a valid ANSYS version and the app does not start contact your ANSYS reseller and request a new
license file. If your ANSYS version is higher, e.g. 19.0, you have to buy a new version of the app to get a new license.
Introduction

• Background
– Weld strength evaluation usually requires a lot of manual work in order
to build the welds and extract weld section forces in a correct local
coordinate system, evaluate the utilization and to review the results.
• Solution
– The Weld Strength app can speed up the creation of weld contacts and
build solid fillet welds. It can create results for utilization, weld stresses
and forces for one or all load steps (maximum over time) for many weld
sections in one results object.
– The Weld Strength app can calculate minimum required weld section
thickness based on one or all load steps.
– Results are plotted on the geometry and listed in a text file.
– User defined weld codes can be added to the app.
News in V182.9
• Save and Load weld configuration to/from text file.
• All geometry types and mesh are supported.
• Thermal fillet welds to allow conduction and automatic mapping of temperatures in
structural analysis.
• Post processing of fillet weld element results in Mechanical (Temperature, Deformation,
Strain, Stress, Contact).
• Weld section force sum and parallel moment result item.
• Calculate Time History “No/Yes” to speed up weld evaluation.
• General speed improvement for weld evaluation.
• Calculate minimum weld thickness for “Add Fillet Weld”.
• Improved floating average result display for coarse shell models at section ends.
• New improved weld section and reference face graphics.
• Position of weld section for shell and solid models (Top/Bottom/Top&Bottom)
• Weld section angle is derived from geometry (and not fixed at 45 degrees).
Weld Strength Toolbar
• Save Weld Configuration
− Saves all fillet weld and result objects to a configuration file in the solution directory
• Import Weld Configuration
− Import all fillet weld and result objects from selected configuration file
• Create Weld Contacts
− Create bonded contacts for parts beginning with “Weld” or “weld”
• Weld Contacts Match
− Create contact match for all contacts with “Weld” or “weld” in the name
• Add Fillet Weld
− Create solid fillet welds on solid geometry

• Fillet Weld Strength

− Evaluate weld strength for selected fillet welds

• Butt Weld Strength

− Evaluate weld strength for selected butt welds

• Result File Item

− Post processing of result file items (Temperature, Deformation, Strain, Stress, Contact and Material number)
• Bolt Toolkit Help
− Detailed help is found in the on-line documentation.
• Open Preference File
− Edit default settings for “Add Fillet Weld” and weld codes for “Weld Strength”
Save and Import Weld Configuration
• Save Weld Configuration writes a text file in the current solution folder.
All fillet weld and result objects are exported.
The file can be used as a template for creating user defined weld configurations.
• Import Weld Configuration reads a weld configuration file and creates all weld
objects in the file.
• The Save/Import option can be used to copy the weld setup from a Structural
analysis to a Thermal analysis or from one analysis to another.
It can also be used if the weld configuration is defined outside of Mechanical or by
another automation app/Wizard.
Weld Contacts Automation
• Name each weld part starting with
“Weld” or “weld”.
• Click the “Create Weld Contacts”
button. This will create a “Weld
Contacts” folder in the Connections
folder and create contacts with correct
settings for use with the Fillet Weld
Strength result.
• Delete any existing duplicate weld
contacts in other contacts folders.
Weld Contacts Match
• For tetrahedron meshed parts the
weld contact match can be used to
create a “Weld Contacts Match” folder
in Mesh Edit and create corresponding
mesh imprint for the weld contacts.
• Note: If the parts belong to a multi-
body part with option “imprint” this is
not needed.
Add Fillet Weld
• Click the “Add Fillet Weld” button. This
will create a “Fillet Welds Group” and add
the first Fillet Weld object.
• Select the edge chain where to place the
weld root. Select reference faces
connected to the edges. (Same as when
post processing welds)
• Define weld type, throat thickness,
number of elements and material.
• If type is “intermittent” the number of Weld Section (X)
welds, weld length, space or weld ratio Reference Face
Throat thickness (Y)
must be filled in.
Weld Seam
• All shapes of solid geometry is supported.
• The total weld length and mass is
calculated and can be used as an output
parameter for optimization.
• The weld line geometry can be exported
to Space Claim or Design Modeler format.
Add Fillet Weld – Weld mesh
• The fillet weld is meshed during solution
(Solid185) and connected with contacts to
the geometry.
• Select 2, 3 or 4 elements over the
thickness (Throat elements)
• The mesh can be visualized using “Rst
Material Number”. The material number
(PNUMMAT) is useful for plotting results
on individual weld parts “Rst Equivalent
Stress”.
Add Fillet Weld – Intermittent weld
• Using type “Intermittent” allows to define
a number of weld segments with a
specified length, spacing or ratio.
• Updating any parameter will re-calculate
the values of the other parameters and
update the graphical plot.
• Both closed and open chain of edges are
supported and the weld elements will
follow the geometry seamless over the
edge segments.
Add Fillet Weld – Optimization DX
• Weld optimization can easily be made using input parameters on throat thickness, number
of welds and weld length. Output parameters on weld length, mass and utilization.
Add Fillet Weld – Geometry export
• The defined weld geometry can be exported for use in external CAD programs.
• The Fillet Weld mesh is automatically exported to an ANSYS cdb file (FilletWeldGroup.cdb)
after each analysis. This mesh can be used in an “External Model” and linked to a
“Geometry” and exported to a neutral CAD file (.stp, .igs etc.).
Add Fillet Weld – Weld line export
• The defined weld line can be exported to Design Modeler or Space Claim line files.
The file is saved in the “Solver Files Directory”.
Weld Strength
• Build the FE-model as normal using existing
weld parts or using “Add Fillet Weld”.
• Insert the “Fillet Weld Strength” or “Butt
Weld Strength” results object in a “Static”
or “Transient” analysis.
• Define weld geometry, weld code, steel
grade, result item, result averaging and
time step. See details on next slides.
• Evaluate and review the results.
• To post process an object from the “Fillet
Weld Group” select the weld object from
the list in the “Geometry Select”. This will
fill in the Weld Section, Reference Face,
Type, Thickness (and Intermittent).
• Detailed help is found in the
documentation from the Weld Strength
Toolbar.
Weld Strength - Result Properties
• Weld Section : Select edges of a shell or solid model along the weld line. This is the location where the results are plotted. The edge
can be a shared edge in a shell or a multi-body part or a free edge from a contact faces of a weld. Edge to surface contacts as well as
mesh connections are also allowed. See table of pictures on next slide for valid selections.
• Reference Face: For each weld section select a face connected to the weld section edge. (In order to create a local Cartesian or
cylindrical coordinate system and to use as reference for the weld section forces.) The reference face should be selected from the part
that is welded, meaning that the section forces are extracted from the part the reference face belongs to.
• Weld Geometry
Geometry Select: [Manual select/(Fillet_IdXYZ)] Listing of welds from the “Fillet Weld Group”.
Type: [Single sided/Double sided/Single sided intermittent/Double sided intermittent] Type of fillet weld, see pictures below. The butt
weld result object will only display “Butt weld”.
Weld side: [Top/Bottom/Top&Bottom] Weld side in relation to the reference face and display results from this side
Min thickness: Weld throat thickness, Default = 3 mm.
Calculate Min Thickness: [No/Yes]. Flag to indicate if weld thickness will be calculated. Can be used to override the thickness defined
for an “Add Fillet Weld” that is shown as a read only property.
Weld fraction: Visible for intermittent welds only. Ratio of Lweld/Lsection
• Weld Evaluation
Weld code: [Eurocode 3 (default)/Eurocode 3 Simplified/DNV Fatigue (2.3.4)/User] (See section about user defined codes in the end)
Steel grade: [S235/S275/S355/S420/S460/Unknown] Joint material steel grade to decide correlation factor bw and sets Weld Strength.
(Only visible for Eurocode 3) The default is “S235“.
Correlation factor Bw: Correlation factor bw. Default = 0.8.
Safety factor M2: Partial safety factor gM2. Default = 1.25.
Weld strength: Minimum of joint material ultimate limit, fu. Default = 360 MPa.
The dimensional weld strength fd is defined by the weld code property file as a function of fu, bw and gM2
• Weld Result
Result Item: [Sect L (Y)/Min thick/Wuf/Seqv/Snormal/Tparallell/Tnormal/FX/FY/FZ/Fsum/MY/MYutil] Result to display.
Result averaging: [Floating/Section]
Calculate Time History: [No/Yes] If all results steps should be evaluated. Set to No to speed up post processing.
Total Weld Length: Read only property of weld length, Lweld, to help estimate welding time and cost.
• Definition
By: [Time/Result Set/Maximum Over Time/Time Of Maximum] Mechanical standard property for selecting display time, result set or
maximum over time.
Display Time: Time or Set to evaluate
Weld Strength - Pictorial guide

• Verification examples are

found in the demo model
system “Weld Cases”.
Weld Strength - Results listing
• In the solution folder, a result summary text file for each result object is created with the same name as the
result object. Example below is for Eurocode 3, for ”User” codes the definition of the stress can be different.

Group Id: Weld Section Group number

Sect Id: Weld Section edge “reference id”. (Use selection information on an edge with Beta options(*))
Sect L: Weld section edge length
a min: Actual or calculated min needed weld throat thickness to fulfil Wuf < 1. This value is calculated
from the section average and may differ compared to the floating average thickness results.
Wuf avg: Average weld utilization factor of the whole weld edge based on total load and weld area.
Seqv avg: Average equivalent stress of the whole weld section, eqv
Snorm avg: Average absolute normal stress of the whole weld section, ⊥
Tpara avg: Average absolute parallel shear stress of the whole weld section, t||
Tnorm avg: Average absolute normal shear stress of the whole weld section, t⊥
FX (radial): Shear force intensity normal or radial to the weld section reference face
FY (parall): Shear force intensity parallel or tangential to the weld section
FZ (axial): In plane axial force intensity perpendicular to the weld section
Fsum: Total force intensity along the weld section
MY (parall): Moment intensity parallel or tangential to the weld section
MYutil: Moment utilization, Ratio of MY and maximum plastic moment capacity
Weld Strength – External post processing
• All result items in Mechanical are saved in a CSV-file that can be plotted as path plots in e.g. Microsoft Excel.
New results can be plotted back in Mechanical using CSV-plot.
Result File Item
• FE-based results for fillet welds can be easily plotted using
the predefined items in the drop down menu
(instead of opening the model in MAPDL)
• The result objects uses “Result File Item” as Scoping Method.
User defined Weld codes
• In addition to Eurocode 3 the user can now define additional custom weld codes.
Click the button “Open Preference file” to edit the settings.
• The API for defining a new weld code is Python based. The default ”Eurocode 3”
code can be used as an example. For detailed information see the full
documentation available from the app toolbar.
Validity of the weld strength results
• It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that the FE-model, chosen method, input
values and results obtained by this application is suitable for his/her intended
purpose, e.g. to evaluate according to a specific design code or to apply strength
modification factors due to misalignment etc.
• For user defined weld codes, it is also the user’s responsibility to verify the validity
of the method, e.g. by using test and verification models together with hand
calculation.
• The full documentation available from the app toolbar contains important notes
on how to use the different options and how different element types etc. may
influence the result.
Known issues and limitations

• Do not create two weld results (e.g. one fillet and one butt weld) using the same
section edge but different reference face. This should be impossible in reality but
the GUI cannot detect this error. The reaction forces will only be listed once in and
the evaluation will be wrong for one of the weld objects.
• Opening a model solved in R17 in R18 requires that the “Solution” cell in the
Workbench system is cleared before opening Mechanical.
• Add Fillet Weld does not allow that the reference face for one edge is the “target”
face for another weld in the case of defining multiple weld chains. Separate the
edge chains so they do not belong to parts for the “target” face. Defining welds
for multiple flanges to one common target face in one Fillet Weld object is OK.
References

• Weld Strength calculation according to Eurocode 3: EN 1993-1-8:2005 Chapter 4

• DNV-RP-C203 Fatigue Design of Offshore Steel Structures. Det Norske Veritas AS
• A demo model “WeldStrengthDemos_V182.9.wbpz” is included in the installation
package. This project is used to demonstrate and verify the features of the app.
THANK YOU!
Magnus Gustafsson
magnus.gustafsson@edrmedeso.com