Development of a surrogate model for predicting residual stresses in a 316L stainless steel electron beam welded pipe

A 316L stainless steel electron beam welded pipe is used as an exemplar to develop a surrogate model of weld residual stress. Finite element modelling of the weld is undertaken to predict the residual stress field which is validated through measurements. A semi-automated data generation process was then utilised to develop a surrogate model of the weld by varying the welding parameters using Python scripts. Finally, an inverse surrogate model was developed which provides the welding parameters required to produce a specified residual stress field.