Supplemental Ultrasonic Code Inspection of Structural Weldments
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 14, Issue 1
Abstract
This work addressed two issues pertaining to the ultrasonic inspection of steel-moment-frame buildings that may have suffered damage as a result of the 1994 Northridge earthquake ground motion. These were: (1) Are the AWS D1.1 Code procedures reliable enough to detect flaws in the structural weldments of interest? and (2) Are there alternative Code-supplemental procedures that can be applied manually for not only improved flaw detection, but also flaw location, classification, and sizing? Twelve mockup specimens containing a total of 17 intentional worst-case-scenario flaws in representative beam-to-column weld geometries were fabricated. The Code-based detection results were marred by four misses and more than ten false alarms. In contrast, use of Code-supplemental procedures assured that no intentional test flaws were missed and false alarms were kept to a minimum. Only the Code-supplemental advanced procedures were used to characterize (as to type, location, orientation, depth, and length) a detected test flaw. In 95% of the measurements, the XYZ flaw location, length, and depth estimated were within 5 mm (0.2 in.) of the intended values.
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References
American Welding Society (AWS). (1996). “Structural weld-ing code-steel.” AWS D1.1-96, Miami.
Gruber, G. J., and Light, G. M. (1999). “Assess the reliability of available NDE methods to identify defects that jeopardize the behavior of weld joints—establish model UT procedures.” Final Rep. to SAC on Subtask 5.2.4, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Tex.
Johnson, M. A., et al. (2000). “State of the art report on joining and inspection.” Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Rep. 355B, Section 7, Edison Welding Institute, Columbus, Ohio.
Paret, T. F. (1999). “Nine studies aimed at explaining the W1 issue and the related issue of UT inspection reliability.” Final Rep. to SAC on Subtask 3.1.3., Wiss Janney Elstner Associates, Emeryville, Calif.
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Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 8, 2000
Accepted: May 29, 2001
Published online: Feb 1, 2002
Published in print: Feb 2002
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