Evaluation of a finite element modelling approach for welded aluminium structures

Experimental and numerical studies were carried out to investigate the behaviour of quasi-statically loaded fillet-welded connections in aluminium alloy EN AW 6082. The components were designed so that fracture should occur in the heat-affected-zone (HAZ), which was also the case in the experiments. In the numerical study, the components were modelled in LS-DYNA using shell elements. A user-defined material model comprising the Barlat and Lian anisotropic yield criterion and a ductile fracture criterion was adopted. The strength and hardening data for the HAZ, weld and base material were taken from existing experimental data in the literature. The constants for the yield criterion were identified from uniaxial tensile tests by various methods, and the set of constants that best represents the measurements was adopted in the numerical analysis. Reasonable estimates on ductility were obtained by the simulations when a refined mesh was used, while the strength was somewhat over-predicted.