Welding and cladding have been considered to use in aerospace industry, especially friction stir welding (FSW), laser beam welding (LBW), laser weldbonding (LWB), and laser additive manufacturing (LAM).  Finite element weld modeling has been playing an important role in developing these processes, such as selecting welding parameters for new geometries and materials, optimizing welding sequences for distortion mitigations, and so on.  This paper attempts to review the recent weld modeling applications for aerospace industry, particularly LBW and LWB, in Edison Welding Institute (EWI). 
Laser welding was used in assembling a thin-panel structure for aerospace applications. The structure consists of a thin plate with many L-shape stiffeners.  LBW was used to join the stiffeners to the thin plate.  Welding-induced buckling distortion was a major concern.  To control the buckling distortion, a three-roller system was designed with the help of finite element weld modeling. Finite element model was used to optimize the relative distances between the laser and the rollers.  This improved LBW process has been successfully used to weld the structure by eliminating buckling distortion and producing low weld residual stresses.  
Laser weldbonding is a process combining use of a welding method and adhesive bonding in the same joining process. It has been demonstrated to weld an aluminum aerospace structure.  Weldbonding offers the potential of greater structural rigidity at lower weight, lower metal gauge, and lower cost over traditional riveting. Finite element modeling was performed to compare the stress characteristics in a laser weldbonded structure and a riveted structure.  The analysis results show more preferred stress distributions in the laser weldbonded structure than the riveted structure.  Experimental results also show the weldbonded structure has higher load carrying capability.
In addition, this paper also briefly introduces the modeling of FSW in joining titanium structures, and LAM in repairing engine blades.