SC 411: DESIGN OF STEEL

STRUCTURES

Design of Welded Connections

Prepared by: MTYANA, H.J

JUNE, 2019
UDSM
 Topic Objectives

To enable learners to be able to:-

 Distinguish various weld types
 Identify types of welded joints
 Design suitable weld joints in structural
steel works
References
 British Standards Institution (2000) : BS 5950:
Structural Use of Steel work in Building: Part 1.
Code of Practice for design in simple and
continuous construction: Rolled and Welded
sections, British Standards Institution, London
 T.J. MacGinley and T.C. Ang (1992), Structural
Steelwork Design to Limit State Theory,
Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. Oxford
 DrayCott, Trevor (1999): Structural Element
Design Manual, Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd.
Oxford
Introduction
A WELDED JOINT is a permanent joint
which is obtained by the fusion (creating a
strong metallurgical bond) of the edges of two
parts of metals. The heat required for the fusion
of the material may be obtained by burning gas
(gas welding) or an electric arc (electric arc
welding). The later method is extensively used
because of greater speed of welding.
It is distinguished from other forms of
mechanical connections, such as riveting or
bolting, which are formed by friction or
mechanical interlocking.
 Introduction (cont.…)
Welding is extensively applied in
fabricating/joining various structural elements
such as truss structures, beams and girders,
columns, baseplates, water reservoirs, etc.

It is also used as a repair medium to reunite

these structural elements when cracked or
broken.
 Advantages of welded connection
 Asno hole is required for welding, hence no
reduction of area. So structural members are
more effective in taking the load.
Since no filler plates, gusseted plates, connecting
angles etc., are not used, which leads to reduced
overall weight of the structure
Welded joints are more economical as less labor
and less material is required.
 The speed of fabrication is faster in comparison
with other joints (e.g. the riveted joints).
Adv. of welded connection (cont.…)
 Complete rigid joints can be provided with
welding process.
 The alternation and addition to the existing
structure is easy.
 No noise is produced during the welding
process as in the case of riveting.
 Welds performs better in case of water tight
joints
 Welding provides very rigid joints. This is in line
with the modern trend of providing rigid frames
Disadvantages of welded joints
 Requires a highly skilled labour and supervision
 Since there is an uneven heating and cooling
during fabrication, then members may get
distorted or additional stresses may develop
 Since no provision is kept for expansion and
contraction in the frame, thus there is a
possibility of cracks developing in it.
 The inspection of welding work is difficult
Disadvantages of welded joints…(cont.)

 Defects like internal air pocket, slag

inclusion and incomplete penetration are
difficult to detect

 Welded joints are more brittle and

therefore their fatigue strength is less than
the members joined
Types of Welds

 Fillet Welds • Butt Welds

 Fillet Weld
 The connecting members are joined to the
parent member either directly or using splice
plates by means of fillet welding.
 Owing to their economy, ease of fabrication and
adaptability, fillet welds are widely used. They require
less precision in the fitting up because the plates being
joined can be moved about more than the Butt welds.
Another advantage of fillet welds is that special
preparation of edges, as required by Butt welds, is not
required.
 In a fillet weld the stress condition in the weld is quite
different from that of the connected parts
Fillet Weld (cont….)

Typical Fillet Weld

Fillet Weld Joints

• T joint
– Flanges or stiffeners
• Lap joint
– No joint preparation

• Corner joint

• Edge joint
– Two or more parallel, or nearly
parallel members
Fillet Weld Joints (cont….)
 Butt Weld
The main use of butt welds is to connect structural
members, which are in the same plane. A few of the many
different butt welds are shown in Fig. below
Butt Weld joints/connections
 Butt Joint
-Continuity of section
 Bevel groove
◦ Single bevel is widely used
◦ Double preferred if metal thickness
>20mm
 V-groove
◦ Both members beveled
◦ Butt joints for plate thickness greater
than 5mm
 Double V-groove
Butt Weld (cont….)
 Design of Fillet Weld (Cl. 6.7.2)

General:
Where the use of intermittent fillet
welds could lead to corrosion, all fillet
welds should be made continuous
(Cl.6.7.2.1)
Design of fillet weld as per BS 5950-1:2000
The code gives two methods for checking fillet welds:

•The simple method (Cl. 6.8.7.2)

The vector sum of the applied stresses acting on

the weld should not exceed the weld design
strength at any point along the weld. The applied
stresses should be calculated on the weld throat
thickness ‘ a’
 Filled Weld Design methods
(cont…)
 The directional method (Cl.
6.8.7.3)

The forces acting on the weld should be resolved

into longitudinal and transverse forces. The
longitudinal force (FL) acts parallel to the weld
and the transverse force (FT) acts perpendicular
to the weld.
This method recognizes the fact that the
transverse capacity of the fillet weld is greater
than the longitudinal shear capacity of the weld.
Filled Weld Design methods (cont….)
Filled Weld Design methods (cont…)
(Table 37)
 Strength of fillet weld (kN/mm run)

Strength of weld = 0.7 leg length ×pw/103 kN/mm

Welding Design
 Welding design involves consideration
of strength requirements, cost, and
service conditions
Design of butt welds as per BS 5950-1:2000

For butt welds the most critical form of loading is

tension applied in the transverse direction.
It has been observed from tests conducted on
tensile coupons containing a full penetration butt
weld normal to the applied load that the welded
joint had higher strength than the parent metal
itself.
Electrodes to be used (Cl. 6.9.1)
All full penetration butt welds and partial
penetration butt welds should be made using
matching electrodes or other welding consumables,
that is the design strength of butt welds should
be taken as equal to that of parent metal
provided that suitable electrodes are used. If the
parent metals are of different grades, then the
design strength of the weld should be assumed
equal to the lower grade parent metal. The
electrodes used must be those suitable for the
higher grade parent metal.
Throat thickness (9.6.2)
Capacity of partial penetration butt welds

 Single-sided partial penetration butt welds that

are asymmetric relative to the parts joined
should not be used to resist tension or
compression, unless the connection is suitably
restrained against rotation. In calculating the
stress in the weld, the resulting eccentricity
should be taken into account.
 The capacity of a partial penetration
butt weld in a butt joint, [see Figure
(32a) and Figure (32b) of the code, or
a corner joint, see Figure (32c) of the
code], should be taken as sufficient if
throughout the weld the stress does
not exceed the relevant strength of
the parent material.
The capacity of a tee-butt joint with a pair of partial
penetration butt welds with additional fillets, see
Figure 32d) of the code, should be determined by
treating it:
— as a butt weld, if a > 0.7s;
— as a fillet weld, see 6.8.6, if a ≤ 0.7s;
in which a is the effective throat size and s is the
length of the smaller fusion face, see Figure 32d).
Weld Types
Joint Design

 J-groove
◦ Single well suited for butted
corner and T joints
◦ Machined or carbon arc
gouged preparation

 U-groove
◦ Rounded base allows larger
electrodes for narrower
groove angles
◦ Machined or carbon arc
gouged preparation
 Joint Design

Parts of a Weld Joint

1 6

2
2
5 1 3
5
3
4
4

 1 - groove angle  1 - throat

 2 - bevel angle
 3 - root face (land)
 4 - root opening (root
gap)
 5 - groove face
 2 - weld face
 3 - depth of fusion
 4 - root
 5 - fillet leg length
 6 - weld toe
 Case Study
Case Study: Solidification Cracking
 Weld metal shrinks as it
solidifies
◦ Shrinkage causes stress
 Stress on hot weld metal
◦ Metals have lower strength
at high temperatures
 Weld metal cracks
 Affected by
◦ Joint geometry
◦ Impurity elements (S, P)
 Case Study

“The Weld Looked Great!”

Weld cap before machining
 Internal crack
wasn’t visible after
welding
 Weld cap removed
during final
machining
 Crack “appeared”
 Joint Design

Welding Economics
 Amount of weld metal
◦ Cost of weld metal
◦ Time required to deposit
 Joint preparation
◦ Grooves are prepared by machining, grinding,
gas cutting, gouging
 Accessibility
◦ Poor access to joint adds to weld time
Welding Economics (cont….)
 The cost of making a weld includes many
factors. Among these are plate
preparation, weld metal, flux,
shielding gas, power, operator time,
and any post-weld heat treatment.
 Operator time includes not only the
amount of time spent actually welding
the plate, but also positioning, changing
electrodes, etc.
Welding Economics (cont….)
 A joint with good accessibility for the
operator will allow for greater efficiency
and reduced costs.
 A properly designed joint is one that
meets strength and service requirements
at the lowest cost. Reduction in the
amount of filler metal is one way to
reduce cost. Avoid joints with deep
grooves.
 Welding Economics (cont….)

 Deep penetrating processes such as SAW

require less weld metal and may eliminate
the need for joint preparation in thinner
materials.
 Joints should not be overdesigned; strength
is always based on the thinnest member.
The use of excessive filler metal increases
not only material costs but also the amount
of time required to complete a weld.
 Double-groove welds should be employed
when possible. As plates become thicker,
weld selection will move from V-groove to
J-groove to U-groove. Root openings and
included angles should always be kept to a
minimum