Abstract: The complex temperature field and welding residual stress distribution in the welding process of automobile drive axle housing make the axle housing produce large welding deformation. A three-dimensional model of axle housing is established by CATIA， and the welding temperature field， welding residual stress and welding deformation are simulated and analyzed by Simufact Welding software. The influence of clamping conditions on the welding deformation and residual stress of axle housing is studied. The results show that the welding deformation of axle housing is mainly caused by the shrinkage and warpage of both ends of the axle housing in the direction of the welding seam， and the maximum value is 11.63mm. The residual stress of axle housing welding is mainly the axial tensile stress of the axle housing. In the cooling stage of axle housing welding， prolonging the constraint control time(600s)of the fixture on the axle housing can effectively reduce the welding deformation and residual stress of axle housing. Compared with the full free cooling(keeping the cooling control time of the fixture on axle housing for 30s)， the welding deformation of axle housing is reduced by 20%~26%.

Key words: automobile drive axle housing; welding simulation; welding deformation; welding residual stress; clamping condition