Design of Single-Sided Fillet Welds under Transverse Load
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 9
Abstract
In North American steel design specifications, a directional strength-enhancement factor is used to increase the predicted strength of fillet welds subjected to transverse loading (i.e., loading at 90° to the weld axis). Committees have expressed concerns about this factor being unsafe for single-sided fillet welds; however, due to a lack of testing, only cautionary statements have been made in most specifications to address this. An experimental program was hence developed to test 40 transversely loaded single-sided fillet welds in cruciform connections subjected to branch axial tension. The connections varied weld size, branch-plate thickness, and loading eccentricity to investigate the effects of these parameters on fillet-weld strength. Results of this program are presented herein, and a first-order reliability method (FORM) analysis was performed. It is shown that current fillet-weld design provisions meet/exceed code-specified target safety indices (i.e., ) provided that (1) the directional strength-enhancement factor is not used, and (2) stresses that result in opening of the weld root notch are avoided.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
Financial support for this project has been provided by the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The authors are grateful for the provision of materials and fabrication by Marid Industries, Ltd., Halifax, Canada.
References
AISC. 2016. Specification for structural steel buildings. ANSI/AISC360-16. Chicago: AISC.
ASTM. 2020. Standard test methods and definitions for mechanical testing of steel products. ASTM A370-20. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
AWS (American Welding Society). 2020. Structural welding code: Steel. AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2015. Miami, FL: AWS.
Butler, L. J., and G. L. Kulak. 1971. “Strength of fillet welds as a function of direction of load.” Welding J. 50 (5): 231–234.
Callele, L. J., R. G. Driver, and G. Y. Grondin. 2009. “Design and behavior of multi-orientation fillet weld connections.” AISC Eng. J. 46 (4): 257–272.
Cassidy, C. E. 1993. “Effective weld length for HSS T, Y, and X connections.” Master’s thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Toronto.
CEN (European Committee for Standardization). 2005. Design of steel structures: Part 1-8: Design of joints. EN 1993-1-8:2005, Eurocode 3. Brussels, Belgium: CEN.
Chen, Y., Z. Y. Shen, Q. Zheng, and C. Chen. 2001. “Experimental study on the performance of single weld joints in H-shaped steel members.” Int. J. Steel Struct. 1 (3): 201–211.
CISC (Canadian Institute of Steel Construction). 2021. Handbook of steel construction. 12th ed. Toronto: CISC.
CSA (Canadian Standards Association). 2011. Guidelines for the development of limit states design standards. CSA S408-11. Toronto: CSA.
CSA (Canadian Standards Association). 2014. Design of steel structures. CSA S16-14. Toronto. CSA.
CSA (Canadian Standards Association). 2018a. General requirements for rolled or welded structural quality steel/Structural quality steel. CSA G40.20-13/G40.21-13 (R2018). Toronto: CSA.
CSA (Canadian Standards Association). 2018b. Welded steel construction (metal arc welding). CSA W59-18. Toronto: CSA.
CSA (Canadian Standards Association). 2019a. Canadian highway bridge design code. CSA S6:19. Toronto: CSA.
CSA (Canadian Standards Association). 2019b. Design of steel structures. CSA S16:19. Toronto: CSA.
Deng, K., G. Y. Grondin, and R. G. Driver. 2006. “Effect of loading angle on the behaviour of fillet welds.” AISC Eng. J. 43 (1): 9–23.
Frater, G. S. 1986. “Weldment design for hollow structural section joints.” Master’s thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Toronto.
Galambos, T. V., and M. K. Ravindra. 1977. “The basis for load and resistance factor design criteria of steel building structures.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 4 (2): 178–189. https://doi.org/10.1139/l77-023.
Galambos, T. V., and M. K. Ravindra. 1978. “Properties of steel for use in LRFD.” ASCE J. Struct. Div. 104 (9): 1459–1468. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSDEAG.0004988.
Kamtekar, A. G. 1982. “A new analysis of the strength of some simple fillet welded connections.” J. Constr. Steel Res. 2 (2): 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/0143-974X(82)90024-4.
Kamtekar, A. G. 1987. “The strength of planar fillet weld groups subjected to a shearing force applied outside their planes.” J. Constr. Steel Res. 4 (3): 163–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/0143-974X(84)90028-2.
Kanvinde, A. M., I. R. Gomez, M. Roberts, B. V. Fell, and G. Y. Grondin. 2009. “Strength and ductility of fillet welds with transverse root notch.” J. Constr. Steel Res. 65 (4): 948–958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2008.05.001.
Kato, B., and K. Morita. 1974. “Strength of transverse fillet welded joints.” Welding J. 53 (2): 59–64.
Kennedy, D. J. L., and M. Gad Aly. 1980. “Limit states design of steel structures: Performance factors.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 7 (1): 45–77. https://doi.org/10.1139/l80-005.
Lesik, D. F., and D. J. Kennedy. 1990. “Ultimate strength of fillet welded connections loaded in plane.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 17 (1): 55–67. https://doi.org/10.1139/l90-008.
Li, C., G. Y. Grondin, and R. G. Driver. 2007. Reliability analysis of concentrically loaded fillet welds. Structural Engineering Rep. 271. Edmonton, AB, Canada: Univ. of Alberta.
Lind, N. C. 1971. “Consistent partial safety factors.” ASCE J. Struct. Div. 97 (6): 1651–1669. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSDEAG.0002924.
MacPhedran, I., and G. Y. Grondin. 2011. “A simple steel beam design curve.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 38 (2): 141–153. https://doi.org/10.1139/L10-114.
Miazga, G. S., and D. J. L. Kennedy. 1989. “Behaviour of fillet welds as a function of the angle of loading.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 16 (4): 583–599. https://doi.org/10.1139/l89-089.
Ng, A. K. F., K. Deng, G. Y. Grondin, and R. G. Driver. 2004a. “Behaviour of transverse fillet welds: Experimental program.” AISC Eng. J. 41 (2): 39–54.
Ng, A. K. F., K. Deng, G. Y. Grondin, and R. G. Driver. 2004b. “Behaviour of transverse fillet welds: Parametric and reliability analyses.” AISC Eng. J. 41 (2): 55–67.
Ng, A. K. F., R. G. Driver, and G. Y. Grondin. 2002. Behaviour of transverse fillet welds. Structural Engineering Rep. 245. Edmonton, AB, Canada: Univ. of Alberta.
Oatway, P. 2014. “Fillet-welded end-plate connections to square and rectangular HSS.” Master’s thesis, Dept. of Civil and Mineral Engineering, Univ. of Toronto.
Packer, J. A., M. Sun, and K. Tousignant. 2016. “Experimental evaluation of design procedure for fillet welds to hollow structural sections.” ASCE J. Struct. Eng. 142 (5): 04016007. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0001467.
Schmidt, B. J., and F. M. Bartlett. 2002. “Review of resistance factor for steel: Resistance distributions and resistance factor calibration.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 29 (1): 109–118. https://doi.org/10.1139/l01-082.
Thomas, J. H. 2021. “Design of single-sided fillet welds under transverse loading.” Master’s thesis, Dept. of Civil and Resource Engineering, Dalhousie Univ.
Tousignant, K., and J. A. Packer. 2017. “Numerical investigation of fillet welds in HSS-to-rigid end-plate connections.” ASCE J. Struct. Eng. 143 (12): 04017165. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0001889.
Tousignant, K., and J. A. Packer. 2019. “Weld effective lengths for round HSS cross-connections under branch axial loading.” AISC Eng. J. 56 (3): 173–186.
Tuominen, N., T. Björk, and A. Ahola. 2018. “Effect of bending moment on capacity of fillet welds.” In Proc., Tubular Structures XVI. London: Taylor & Francis.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 9 • September 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 2, 2021
Accepted: Apr 4, 2022
Published online: Jun 25, 2022
Published in print: Sep 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Nov 25, 2022
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.
Cited by
- Zhiyuan Yang, Kyle Tousignant, Experimental tests on fillet and PJP welds in CHS moment T-connections, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 10.1016/j.jcsr.2022.107405, 196, (107405), (2022).