Distortion analysis of heat spot straightening thin-walled welded structures: part 1: formation of the plastic deformation zone.

The work deals with the elastic-plastic thermo-mechanical deformation process after spot heating of large thin plates. It promotes a new theoretical model of the process. The main target is to clarify the kinetics of the plastic strain formation during thermal straightening and to explore the main interactions. For this purpose, a simplified mechanical problem is formulated and applied. As a result, definite thermo-mechanical relations between temperature, initial strain, and accumulated plastic strain are obtained. Finally, a verification study is presented and discussed. The results contribute to extending the knowledge about the process and to establishing a theoretical background for development of applied analytical or analytical-numerical approaches for practical use in the designing and planning phases in welding production. An application to a particular case is described in an accompanying paper (part 2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]