Vibratory weld conditioning - the effect of rigid body motion vibration during welding

Previous studies suggested that the state of residual stress in a weld may be modified by vibration during and after the welding process. In this study, the effect of rigid body motion vibration on welding residual stresses was investigated. The specimens were welded while they were being vibrated in a rigid body motion mode. The specimens were vibrated using two different frequencies (50 Hz and 500 Hz). At the lower frequency vibration (50 Hz), small changes in the residual stresses were found, with no particular trend. At the high frequency vibration, no significant reductions in the residual stresses were observed in the longitudinal stresses or in the transverse direction. Some initial results are presented also regarding flexural vibration effects.