Verifying and Validating Welded Connection FEA Model : Butt Welded High Strength Steel Connection

Abstract

This bachelor's thesis is part of a research project on high-strength steel (HSS) welded connections that was commissioned by HAMK Tech, a Research Unit of Häme University of Applied Sciences. Creating a tensile simulation of an HSS specimen with weld in the middle, verifying and validating the simulation, and offering reliable guidance on using the software, are the main goals of this thesis. Tensile testing and other studies conducted at the HAMK Tech facilities served as the foundation for this thesis. This thesis aims to describe the steps involved in modeling with Abaqus and the necessary calculations with test data from HAMK Tech. The most critical tasks in the modeling process are establishing critical parameters, determining geometry, and selecting relevant input data for material attributes. Valuable references from previous official scientific studies are used to do this research. This thesis defines appropriate mesh size, element type, element shape, mass scaling factor, and amplitude of time dependency applied load, especially to verify and validate the simulation. The generated model which has the accuracy of 99.85%, can eliminate the cost of experimental testing by displaying the specimen's realistic failure process and providing reliable output data in terms of force-displacement and stress-strain graphs and tables.