Influence of different introduction methods of initial imperfection on compressive behavior analysis of L-shaped welded steel column

•FE analysis was applied to welding and loading processes of single bevel butt joint•A high-precision initial imperfections introduced FE simulation method was verified•Welding and loading continuous analysis can better reproduce the experiment results The initial imperfection (initial deflection and residual stress) strongly influences the compressive behavior of welded steel structural members. This study examined introducing methods of the initial imperfection for simulating the compressive behavior of welded L-shaped columns by finite element (FE) analysis. When the initial deflection and residual stress were introduced independently into the model, the compressive behavior of the L-shaped column did not reproduce the experimental result. This study proposed a continuous analysis method from the welding simulation to the loading simulation for reproducing the perfectly dependent initial deflection and residual stress. The proposed method accurately reproduced the experimental results. [Display omitted]