Design strengths of welded connections

Introduction
Intermittent fillet welds and intermittent partial penetration butt welds should only be used where crevice
corrosion is unlikely to occur. Furthermore, continuous partial penetration butt welds should be used with
care in marine or very heavily polluted onshore environments, particularly where capillary action might
occur.
Guidance should always be sought regarding the correct choice of welding consumables for the grade(s)
of stainless steel to be joined, and a suitable welding process employed for the type and position of joint
to be welded.
Fillet welds
The angle of intersection of members connected by fillet welds should be such that the angle between
the fusion faces of a weld is not less than ! degrees and not more than "#! degrees. $utside these limits,
the ade%uacy of the connection should be determined on the basis of tests. &s for carbon steel (see BS
5950-1, clause 6.7.2.5), a single fillet weld should not be used in situations that produce a bending
moment about the longitudinal a'is of the weld if this causes tension that may open the root of the weld.
The effective length of a fillet weld may be taken as the overall length of the full(si)e fillet less one leg
length, s, for each end which does not continue round a corner. *owever, a fillet weld with an effective
length less than 4s or less than 40 mm should not be used to carry load.
The effective throat size, a, of a fillet weld should be taken as the perpendicular distance from the root of
the weld to a straight line joining the fusion faces that lies within the cross(section of the weld.


The force per unit length transmitted by a fillet weld at a given point in its length should be determined
from the applied forces and moments, under +,- loading conditions (see BS5950:1 cl. 2.4.1.1) using the
elastic section properties of the weld or weld group, based on effective throat si)es. .he design stress in a
fillet weld should be calculated as the force per unit length transmitted by the weld, divided by the
effective throat si)e a.
.he capacity should be taken as sufficient if, throughout the length of the weld, the vector sum of the
design stresses due to all factored forces and moments transmitted by the weld does not e'ceed its design
strength p
w
.
.he design strength of the weld p
w
, should be taken as/
p
w
= 0.5 U
e
but not more than the lesser of 0.46* U
s
and p
y
where/
U
s
is the specified minimum ultimate tensile strength of the weakest part of parent metal to be joined
U
e
is the minimum tensile strength of the electrode, as specified in the relevant product standard
p
y
is design strength, conventionally taken as the !.#0 proof strength
For austenitic stainless steel electrodes, typical values of +
e
lie between 11! 23mm
#
and !! 23mm
#
,
whilst for 4uple' electrodes +
e
will be in the region of 5!!23mm
#
, therefore the weld strength is likely to
be governed by the lesser of !.6 +
s
and p
y
. &dvice should be sought from the parent metal3 weld
consumables supplier if in doubt about welding techniques and3or suitale consu!ales for the job,
especially if new grades of parent metal are being used.
"rade
Design #trength $%&
$'(!!
)
&
p
*
Ulti!ate tensile strength
$'(!!
)
&
U
s

7asic chromium(nickel austenitic
steels
".68!"
(8!6)
#"! 1#!(9#!
:olybdenum(chromium( nickel
austenitic steels
".66!"
(8")
##! 1#! ( 9!
-tabilised austenitic steels
".616"
(8#")
#!! 1!! ( 9!!
4uple' steels
".68#
(-&F
#8!6)
6!! !! ( 56!
;roperties apply to material up to 91mm thick.
<.ransverse properties
&s an alternative to this basic method, which conservatively assumes that all stresses are in shear, the
directional !ethod given in BS 5950-1, clause 6.8.7.3 can be used. In this method the forces per unit
length transmitted by the weld are resolved into a longitudinal shear
!
parallel to the a'is of the weld,
and a resultant transverse force
"
perpendicular to this a'is, thus permitting an enhancement in the
transverse weld capacity of up to #10.
+utt welds
.he design strength of a full penetration butt weld may be taken as e%ual to the design strength of the
weaker of the parts joined, provided that the weld satisfies the recommendations outlined in the
introduction to this article, and that an electrode of minimum specified tensile strength at least e%ual to
that of the parent metal is used. .he throat size of a single sided, or of each side of a doubled sided
partial penetration butt weld, should be taken as the minimum depth of penetration of that side of the
weld, and not less than # 2 $ of the thinner part joined. For further guidance, refer to BS5950:1 cl. 6.9.
,eleated ,eferences
1. -tructural 4esign of -tainless -teel