Residual Stresses in Welded Moment Frames and Implications for Structural Performance
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 126, Issue 3
Abstract
Welding-induced residual stresses are usually regarded as secondary stresses and therefore not accounted for in the structural analysis. This treatment, however, was brought into question with the welding research community by the discovery of a widespread structural damage in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Brittle fracture was identified in many of the prequalified weld joints in steel moment frames. Welding-induced residual stresses are believed to be one of the factors contributing to the brittle fracture. In this paper, a detailed investigation on residual stresses in welded moment frame connections is presented. Both the actual connection configurations of the moment resistant frames and local weld details are considered by means of advanced residual stress analysis techniques. Then, the effects of triaxial residual stress state on plastic deformation capacity are discussed based on finite-element results on a wide-plate specimen loaded in tension. Finally, a series of fracture mechanics analyses were carried out to assess the effects of residual stresses on the fracture behavior. As a result, a great deal of insight has been obtained on the fracture behavior of the moment frame welds. Among other things, the results indicate that welding-induced residual stresses significantly increase the fracture driving force due to the presence of high tensile residual stresses. The high triaxial residual stress states identified in these joints can greatly reduce the plastic deformation capability, consequently promoting brittle fracture. Therefore, it seems reasonable to postulate that weld residual stresses could have played an important role in the occurrence of brittle fracture in the pre-Northridge weld joints.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Brust, F. W., Zhang, J., and Dong, P. (1997a). “Pipe and pressure vessel cracking: The role of weld induced residual stresses and creep damage during repair.” Trans. of the 14th Int. Conf. on Struct. Mech. in Reactor Technol. (SMiRT 14), Lyon, France, 1, 297–306.
2.
Brust, F. W., Dong, P., and Zhang, J. ( 1997b). “Influence of residual stresses and weld repairs on pipe fracture.” Approximate Methods in the Design and Analysis of Pressure Vessels and Piping Components, W. J. Bees, ed., PVP, Vol. 347, 173–191.
3.
Brust, F. W., Dong, P., and Zhang, J. ( 1997c). “Crack growth behavior in residual stress fields of a core shroud girth weld.” Fracture and Fatigue, H. S. Mehta, ed., PVP, Vol. 350, 391–406.
4.
Brust, F. W., Dong, P., and Zhang, J. ( 1997d). “A constitutive model for welding process simulation using finite element methods.” Advances in Computational Engineering Science, S. N. Atluri and G. Yagawa, eds., 51–56.
5.
Dong, P., Zhang, J., and Brust, F. W. (1999). “Residual stresses in strength-mismatched welds and implications on fracture behavior.” Engineering Fracture Mechanics (in press).
6.
Gates, W. E., and Morden, M. (1995). “Lessons from inspection, evaluation, repair and construction of welded steel moment frames following the Northridge earthquake.” Technical Report: Surveys and Assessment of Damage to Buildings Affected by the Northridge Earthquake of January 17, 1994, Rep. No. SAC-95-06: 3-1 to 3-79.
7.
Green, M. (1995). “Santa Clarita City Hall: Northridge earthquake damage.” Technical Report: Case Studies of Steel Moment Frame Building Performance in the Northridge Earthquake of January 17, 1994, Rep. No. SAC-95-07: 1-1 to 1-13.
8.
Hajjar, J. F., O'Sullivan, D. P., Leon, R. T., and Gourley, B. C. (1995). “Evaluation of the damage to the Borax Corporate Headquarters Building as a result of the Northridge earthquake.” Technical Report: Case Studies of Steel Moment Frame Building Performance in the Northridge Earthquake of January 17, 1994, Rep. No. SAC-95-07: 2-1 to 2-76.
9.
Kanninen, M. F., and Popelar, C. H. (1985). Advanced fracture mechanics. Oxford University Press, New York.
10.
Kaufmann, E. J., and Fisher, J. W. (1995a). “Fracture analysis of failed moment frame weld joints produced in full-scale laboratory tests and buildings damaged in the Northridge earthquake.” Technical Report: Experimental Investigations of Materials, Weldments and Nondestructive Examination Techniques, Rep. No. SAC-95-08: 1-1 to 1-21.
11.
Kaufmann, E. J., and Fisher, J. W. (1995b). “A study of the effects of material and welding factors on moment frame weld joint performance using a small-scale tension specimen.” Technical Report: Experimental Investigations of Materials, Weldments and Nondestructive Examination Techniques, Rep. No. SAC-95-08: 2-1 to 2-29.
12.
Kaufmann, E. J. ( 1997). “Dynamic tension tests of simulated moment resisting frame weld joints.” Steep Tips: 1-24. Structural Steel Educational Council.
13.
Naeim F, DiJulio, R. Jr., Benuska, K., Reinhorm, A. M., and Li C. (1995). “Evaluation of seismic performance of an 11-story steel moment frame building during the 1994 Northridge earthquake.” Technical Report: Analytical and Field Investigations of Buildings Affected by the Northridge Earthquake of January 17, 1994, Rep. No. SAC-95-04, Part 2: 6-1 to 6-109.
14.
Popov, E. P., Blonder, M., Stepanov, L., and Stozidar, S. (1996). “Full-scale steel beam-column connection tests.” Technical Report: Experimental Investigations of Beam-Column Subassemblages, Rep. No. SAC-96-01, Part 2: 4-1 to 4-151.
15.
SAC. (1995). FEMA-267 Interim Guidelines 1995: Evaluation, Repair, Modification and Design of Steel Moment Frames, Rep. No. SAC-95-02: 1-1 to 12-5.
16.
SAC. (1996). Interim Guidelines Advisory No. 1 1997, Supplement to FEMA-267 Interim Guidelines, Rep. No. SAC-96-03: 1-1 to 12-8.
17.
Shuey, B. D., Engelhardt, M. D., and Saboi, T. A. (1996). “Testing of repair concepts for damaged steel moment connections.” Technical Report: Experimental Investigations of Beam-Column Subassemblages, Rep. No. SAC-96-01, Part 2: 5-1 to 5-332.
18.
Whittaker, A., Bertero V., and Gilani, A. (1996). “Seismic testing of full-scale steel beam-column assemblies.” Technical Report: Experimental Investigations of Beam-Column Subassemblages, Rep. No. SAC 96-01, Part 1: 2-1 to 2-221.
19.
Zhang, J., Dong, P., and Brust, F. W. (1997). “Analysis of residual stress in a girth weld of a BWR core shroud.” Approximate Methods in the design and Analysis of Pressure Vessels and Piping Components, W. J. Bees, ed., PVP, Vol. 347, 141–156.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 126 • Issue 3 • March 2000
Pages: 306 - 315
History
Received: Jan 6, 1999
Published online: Mar 1, 2000
Published in print: Mar 2000
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.