A Publication of The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation
A Publication of The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation
A Publication of The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation
Donald N. Zwiep
Chairman, The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIES
Australia and New Zealand
Raymond K. Ryan
Phone: 61-2-4862-3839
Fax: 61-2-4862-3840
Croatia
Prof. Dr. Slobodan Kralj
Phone: 385-1-61-68-222
Fax: 385-1-61-56-940
Russia
Dr. Vladimir P. Yatsenko
Phone: 077-095-737-62-83
Fax: 077-093-737-62-87
Volume XVIII
Number 2, 2001
Editor
Duane K. Miller,
Sc.D., P.E.
Assistant Editor
R. Scott Funderburk, P.E.
Features
13
19
Departments
10
11
16
Roy L. Morrow
President
Deck Slab
Girder Top Flange
Horizontal Crack
Horseshoe Crack
Connection Plate
Girder Web
Connection Plate
Not Attached to the
Top Flange
Out-of-Plane
Rotation Due to
Differential Girder
Deflection
Background
The Interstate construction boom from
the late 1950s through the 1970s built
many of the steel highway bridges currently in service in the United States.
However, due to the lack of in-depth
research on the fatigue performance
Out-of-plane distortion
accounts for
the largest category
of fatigue cracking
nationwide
of both the structural components and
the connection details, a large portion
of the bridges constructed during that
era have developed fatigue cracks in
service. Often, welded bridge details
are more susceptible to fatigue cracking than bolted or riveted ones.
Discontinuities in the welds form crack
initiation sites at imperfections such as
Out-of-Plane Distortion
entrapped porosity, lack of fusion or
penetration, or incomplete removal of
slag. Fractures can also initiate from
geometrical stress risers, such as fillet
weld toes. Subsequent crack propagation would occur if the surrounding
material is exposed to a cyclic tensile
stress field. Unfavorable residual
stresses can exacerbate the already
severe condition of stress concentration and accelerate the process of
fatigue crack propagation in these
localized regions. Since attached
plates are fused together by welding,
a continuous path is provided for crack
growth from one plate to another. Of
the various crack types observed in
welded steel bridges, those caused
by out-of-plane distortion have been
recognized as the largest category of
fatigue cracking nationwide [Fisher
and Menzemer, 1990].
Return to TOC
Evolution of
Connection Plate
Design Detail Specs
Cracks
most frequently occur
in the positive moment
regions of the
bridge girders
two surveys among different DOTs and
others with an interest in steel bridges.
The first survey was carried out in 1999
within the North Central States and
Federal Highway Administration
Region 3, and the second one was
performed in 2000 through the email
list of AASHTO/NSBA Steel Bridge
Collaboration (thelist@steelbridge.org).
The input from the surveys provided both
valuable insights into the retrofit mechanism of the out-of-plane fatigue cracking
and detailed implementations employed
in the repair of other DOTs bridges.
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Stiffeners and
connection plates
are different concepts
in terms of their
structural purposes
effective; however, consideration shall
be given to the need for this attachment if the location of the stiffener or
its use as a connector plate for a
diaphragm or cross-frame will produce
out-of-plane movements in a welded
web to flange connection. The
authors understand this statement to
mean that the connection plate was
allowed, but was not required, to be
attached to the compression flange.
The connection plate to tension flange
detail was still not explicitly addressed.
By default, the relationship between a
stiffener and the tension flange would
be applied, implying that no welded or
bolted connection was needed.
In 1983, the 13th AASHTO edition
changed to the now current format.
The former description of the stiffenerto-compression-flange connection
appeared in section 10.34.4.6, and
that of the stiffener-to-tension-flange
connection appeared in section
10.34.4.9. The contents of these two
sections were the same as in the 1982
Interim and were kept unchanged until
1995. Design of diaphragms and
cross-frames was specified in section
Hole drilling
The traditional repair method shown
in Figure 4 consists of drilling a hole
at the crack tip. The hole diameter is
sized to be at least 2, where is
determined by Equation 1 [Barsom
and Rolfe, 1999].
K
<4 y
(for y in ksi)
(1)
Return to TOC
Stop Holes
Connection Plate
Cold expansion
Cold expansion is an approach mostly
used in aircraft and railway rails for
fatigue life enhancement of rivet or
bolt holes. It is often performed by
pulling a tapered mandrel, such as is
used in the split sleeve process
[Cannon et al., 1986], through one
side of the hole to the other, in order
to expand the hole diameter and to
To release the
constraints at the
cracked area,
the diaphragms
were lowered to rest
on the bottom flanges
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16
Web Splice PL
Web Splice PL
(Both Sides)
New Conn. PL
7
" A325
Bolt (Typ.)
5
Stop Hole
16
Flange Splice PL
8"
A325
Flange Splice PL
Bolt (Typ.)
Rewelding, if well
performed, could
at least restore
the original member
capacity
Diaphragm removal
Diaphragms and cross-frames are
important during construction because
plates also need to be connected
they provide lateral bracing to the girdrigidly to girder flanges, either by weld- ers and stabilize the entire structural
ing or bolting. Thus the cracked web
system. Once the deck slab is placed,
is stiffened and the girder section
properties are restored by this retrofit.
Cutting the connection plate back
This method was used in 1980 for the
retrofit of Des Moines Bridge [Fisher,
1984]. It has since been used by Iowa
DOT on about 50 two-girder bridges
experiencing small web gap cracks.
None of them have yet experienced
cracking problems after the repair.
Bridges in other states, such as the
Lexington Avenue Bridge (Minnesota),
Bolt loosening
Wipf et al. [1998] investigated the effect
of repair by loosening the cross-frameto-connection-plate bolts on five Iowa
DOT bridges. Field measurement
indicated that the maximum web gap
stress ranges at the tested locations
were reduced by 2585%, the
maximum out-of-plane distortion was
reduced by 2088%, and the maximum
forces in the diaphragm diagonals were
reduced by 7395%. Compared with
the diaphragm removal method, bolt
Cut-short
12 in.
Girder Web
Floor-beam
Connection
Plate
Return to TOC
Retrofitting
Holes
Diaphragm repositioning
This method was used in the repair of
a Minnesota DOT bridge that experienced fatigue cracking in web gaps.
Diaphragms were originally located
near the girder top flanges. To release
the constraints at the cracked area,
the diaphragms were lowered to rest
on the bottom flanges. At a minimum, stress is decreased in the affected areas by a factor of two. This
repair option has similar advantages to
bolt loosening when compared to
diaphragm removal.
Return to TOC
References
Barsom, J. M. and Rolfe, S. T. (1999). Fracture
and Fatigue Control in Structures:
Applications of Fracture Mechanics,
3rd edition. ASTM, West Conshohocken,
Pennsylvania.
Bassetti, A., Nussbaumer, A., and Hirt, M. A.
(2000). Crack Repair and Fatigue Life
Extension of Riveted Bridge Members Using
Composite Materials, Proceedings of Bridge
Engineering Conference, ESE-IABSE-FIB,
March 2000, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Vol. 1,
pp. 227-238.
Cannon, D. F., Sinclair, J., and Sharpe, K. A.
(1986). Improving the Fatigue Performance
of Bolt Holes in Railway Rails by Cold
Expansion, Fatigue Life: Analysis and
Prediction, pp.353-369. American Society for
Metals.
Fisher, J. W. (1984). Fatigue and Fracture in
Steel Bridges: Case Studies. John Wiley &
Sons, New York.
Fisher, J. W., Jin, J., Wagner, D. C., and Yen, B.
T. (1990). NCHRP Report 336: DistortionInduced Fatigue Cracking in Steel Bridges.
TRB, National Research Council,
Washington, D.C.
Fisher, J. W. and Menzemer, C. C. (1990).
Fatigue Cracking in Welded Steel Bridges,
Transportation Research Record 1282, pp.
111-117. National Research Council,
Washington, D.C.
Fisher, J. W., Kulak, G. L., and Smith, I. F. C.
(1998). A Fatigue Primer for Structural
Engineers. National Steel Bridge Alliance.
Gregory, E. N., Slate, G., and Woodley, C. C.
(1989). NCHRP Report 321: Welded Repair
of Cracks in Steel Bridge Members. TRB,
National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
Keating, P. B., Wilson, S. D.,and Kohutek, T. L.
(1996). Evaluation of Repair Procedures for
Web Gap Fatigue Damage. Report No.
FHWA/TX-97/1360-1, Texas Department of
Transportation, Austin, Texas.
Stallings, J. M., Cousins, T. E., and Stafford, T. E.
(1996). Effects of Removing Diaphragms
from Steel Girder Bridge, Transportation
Research Record 1541, pp. 183-188.
National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
Stallings, J. M., Cousins, T. E., and Stafford, T. E.
(1999). Removal of Diaphragms from ThreeSpan Steel Girder Bridge, Journal of Bridge
Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 63. ASCE,
Reston, Virginia.
Welsch, W. H. (1990). A Concept for Preventing
Repeated Weld Repairs of Bridge Structures,
Extending the Life of Bridges, pp. 44-52.
ASTM, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Wipf, T. J., Greimann, L. F., Khalil, A. H., and
Wood, D. (1998). Preventing Cracking at
Diaphragm/Plate Girder Connections in Steel
Bridges. Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
The Project
At Butler Manufacturing, we received
an order for a metal factory building to
be used for the manufacture of candy.
The design of the roof beams posed a
special challenge due to the possibility
that factory dust might accumulate on
the top side of the bottom flanges over
the years, and then fall as a clump into
a batch of candy while it was being
Figure 1. The design of the roof beams had to be such that this would not happen!
Fabrication Challenges
made, ruining it (Figure 1). To eliminate this possibility, the design engineer had specified that the bottom
flanges must be covered with sloping
Return to TOC
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The Answer:
Outrunning Thermal
Expansion
By continuing to experiment, we
learned that once the weld travel
speed exceeded the rate of heat transfer through the thinner cover, the cover
did not bow away from the beam at all.
The travel speed, in this case, was
about 45 ipm (1,100 mm/min.). This
theoretically solved one problem, but
at the same time created another. A
hand welder simply cannot operate
at a travel speed of 45 ipm. The weld
travel speed that was required to eliminate the bowing problem was further
complicated by the 40-ft. (12-m) length
of the beams. Plus, we still had the
sweep problem.
To apply this knowledge about the
travel speed and to solve the other
problems, we needed to mechanize
the process using two welding units,
each running on opposite sides of the
beam in a mirrored configuration. To
accomplish this, we purchased a
Bug-O portable travel carriage, 40 ft.
(12 m) of track, and two sets of torch
holders. We mounted two welding
torches on opposite sides of the travel
carriage using rack and pinion
adjusters, and hung an opaque welding curtain with an inserted welding
shade outside the welding torches so
the welder-operators wouldnt have to
use welding helmets (Figure 5).
Figure 5. This set-up allowed the welding operators to weld faster than the
rate of thermal expansion.
The DC-600 welding machines were
connected to remote pendant controls
for each weld head that were wired to
separately start the weld, but collectively to stop the welding. That way if
either welder had difficulty, he could
stop both welders at the same time.
The travel carriage was set for a 45
ipm (1,100 mm/min.) travel speed.
After production started, the supervisor
noticed that it took too much time to
disassemble the sections of track, move
them to the next beam, reassemble
Opportunities
Space for all programs is limited, so register early to avoid disappointment. For full details, visit
our web site at www.lincolnelectric.com, call 216/383-2240, or write to Registrar, Professional
Programs, The Lincoln Electric Company, 22801 Saint Clair Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44117-1199.
Return to TOC
What Is
Stress Relieving?
Thermal stress relieving is a postweld
heat treating operation to reduce
residual stresses. The weldment is
heated to a temperature below the
transformation temperature, approximately 1350F (730C) for ferritic
Which Electrodes
Are Stress Relieved?
Table 1 contains the AWS filler metal
specifications where deposited weld
metal can be classified in the stress
relieved condition.
PWHT
Temperature,
F (C)
A1
A2
A3
A4
B1, B1L
B2, B2L, B2H
B3, B3L, B3H
B4, B4L
B5
B6, B6L, B6H
B7, B7L
B8, B8L
B9
C1, C1L
C2, C2L
C5L
D1
D2
D3
Ni1
Ni2
Ni3
Ni4
Ni5
F1
F2
F3
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1275 (690)b
1275 (690)c
1275 (690)
1275 (690)
1275 (690)d
1375 (740)
1375 (740)
1375 (740)
1375 (740)
1125 (605)
1125 (605)
1075 (579)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
1150 (620)
Return to TOC
11
as-welded
simply means that
no subsequent heat
treating operation
was performed
and a P designates postweld heat
treatment. For example, an F7A4-EGNi1 flux/electrode combination is classified in the as-welded condition, while
an F7P4-EG-Ni1 is classified in the
stress relieved condition. In some
cases, the same product can be classified in both the as-welded and stress
relieved conditions (e.g., Lincoln
LA85/882 is classified as F7A4-EGNi1 and F7P4-EG-Ni1).
Potential Problems
Three situations can arise where the
wrong electrode is used.
An electrode classified in the stress
relieved condition is used in an
application that does not get stress
relieved.
An electrode classified in the aswelded condition gets stress
relieved.
The actual postweld heat treatment
time and/or temperature differ from
that of the classification.
12
weld strength
by 10 to 15%
Return to TOC
Conclusions
If stress relieving heat treatment is to
be conducted, the final weld properties
and quality should be evaluated and
the filler metal should be one that is
classified in the stress relieved condition. The influence of the heat treatment on the weld metal, heat-affected
zone and base metal properties
should be assessed. Finally, if the
heat treatment time and temperature
are different than the filler metal classification, then the possible effects of
these differences should be evaluated.
1) R. Scott Funderburk. Postweld Heat
Treatment, Welding Innovation, Vol XV,
No. 2, 1998.
2) Copies of the filler metal specifications can
be ordered from AWS at http://www.aws.org
A Unique Mechanism
for Enhancing
Engineering Education
By Donald N. Zwiep
Professor Emeritus, Worcester
Polytechnic Institute and
Chairman, James F. Lincoln
Arc Welding Foundation
Introduction
Since 1948, The James F. Lincoln Arc
Welding Foundation has provided
monetary awards to college engineering students, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, to encourage
the solution of design, engineering or
fabrication problems. Students compete by submitting papers that
describe and illustrate their projects,
which may relate to any type of building, bridge or other structure, any type
of machine, products or mechanical
apparatus, or to arc welding research,
testing, procedure or process development. Reports or projects prepared
for course work, including theses and
dissertations, are eligible to be submitted as entries. Each student or team
of students must list on the entry form
the name of the professor or faculty
advisor who oversaw the work.
Solving design, engineering or fabrication problems fully supports the outcomes Assessments associated with
Scope of Program
The subject of the entries is design,
and the topics covered are virtually
limitless. For example, the range of
winning titles in the 2000 competition
included:
Seatbelt Hypertensioner
Disposable Cassette System
for ATM Currency
Ski Resort Parking
Structure Design
A Simple Anastomosis Device
for Coronary Artery Bypass
Grafting
Voluntary Milking System
Behavior of Square CFT
Beam-Columns with High Strength
Concrete Under Seismic Loading
Design and Fabrication of a
Retractable Wheelchair Foot Tray
Improvement of Durability and
Ergonomics for Packaging
In 2000, 35 projects won awards, and
there were 13 departmental honorariums. A total of 114 students were
involved in producing the winning pro-
Return to TOC
2g
20gi0
neerin
En
t
Studen
n
g
i
Des
tition
Compe
13
Judging
Members of the Jury of Awards are
selected from various branches of
engineering, education, business,
industry, or from any other suitable
source by the Chairman of the
Foundation. Jury members receive
an honorarium and reimbursement
for their travel expenses.
Each entry is read independently by
each Juror, who receives only an
unidentified original copy of the entry.
If the Juror, through prior knowledge,
is able to recognize any of the
entrants, that Juror will not participate
in any judging related to that particular
entry. Jury activities take place over a
nominal two weeks of active review of
the entries with a final meeting of all
the Jurors to select the winning
entries. A distinctive feature of the
Jury process is the thoroughness of
the review given each entry.
The Jurors use the following criteria to
guide their decision-making process:
Originality or Ingenuity
Feasibility
Results Achieved or Expected
Engineering Competence
Clarity of the Presentation
14
Presentation
The Foundation encourages the
preparation of a professional quality
paper based on a students regular
college activities in courses and projects as they are related to engineering design. The entries normally meet
most or all of the ABET requirements
associated with a capstone design
activity. The entries also demonstrate,
contrary to an oft-heard criticism, that
engineering students are articulate in
their written expressions. Software
programs such as CAD, CAM, and
FEM are commonly used. Drawings,
photographs and similar illustrations
are encouraged.
Rewards for
Participation
Faculty and students find that just the
process of preparing an entry provides
intangible rewards of its own. When
an entry actually wins, there is a cash
prize (in 2001 the prizes ranged from
$250 to $2000 each), the prestige of
recognition, and the confirmation of
having developed and described an
effective solution to a challenging
problem.
The educational process that the
students and faculty undertake as they
work on the entries enables young people to experience the stimulation of a
professionally competitive atmosphere.
The process constitutes an outstanding
preparation for the global challenges of
the engineering profession.
Colleges note that having national
award winners affirms the excellence
of their academic programs, while
developing and recognizing the project-advising capabilities of their faculty. Accrediting agencies, both national
and regional, consider national award
winning entries evidence of the quality
of engineering programs. Entries to
the Foundations college program are
considered excellent examples of how
to meet the engineering design
requirements of ABET.
Conclusion
Return to TOC
2002
COLLEGE ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY ENTRY FORM
ENTRY MUST BE POSTMARKED ON OR BEFORE MIDNIGHT, JUNE 15, 2002
Secretary, The James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation, P.O. Box 17188, Cleveland, Ohio 44117-0035
A PHOTOGRAPH MUST BE SUBMITTED OF EACH AUTHOR, WITH THE NAME WRITTEN ON THE BACK, WITH THE ENTRY.
Fill in information requested and attach to title page of paper being entered
in the Program. ENTRY MUST BE TYPED.
DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME OR NAME OF SCHOOL ANYWHERE IN
YOUR ENTRY OTHER THAN ON THE ENTRY FORM.
AUTHOR(S)
_______________________________________________________________________
School
School Address
Home Phone
Home Address
!"Graduate Division
Department _____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Professor or Faculty Advisor ________________________________________________________________________
School Name ___________________________________________________________________________________________
School Address _________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Full Name
Soc. Sec. No.
Home Phone
Home Address
City, State, Zip
School
School Address
City, State, Zip
This paper completed by the undersigned author(s) within the period of June 16, 2001
to June 14, 2002.
Entrant(s) signature(s) __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Full Name
Soc. Sec. No.
Home Phone
Home Address
City, State, Zip
School
NOTE: In case of joint authorship of an award winning Entry, each author will receive
a check dividing the total award amount equally unless otherwise indicated. Please
check one of the boxes below.
!"Divide Equally
!"Divide as follows:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
School Address
City, State, Zip
Full Name
Soc. Sec. No.
Home Phone
Home Address
City, State, Zip
STATEMENT OF CERTIFICATION
School
School Address
Full Name
Home Phone
Home Address
City, State, Zip
School
School Address
City, State, Zip
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone ___________________________________________________________________________________
Return to TOC
15
Design File
Introduction
There are a variety of circumstances in which the engineer
may need to assess the strength of a connection that is
composed of both welds and mechanical fasteners. Today,
mechanical fasteners are typically bolts, but older structures
may include rivets. Such situations may be encountered
during the course of rehabilitation, repair or strengthening
projects. For new construction, bolts and welds may be
combined in connections where the materials being joined
are initially secured with bolts, and then welded to gain the
full connection strength. As will be seen, calculating the total
capacity of the connection is not as simple as totaling the
arithmetical sum of the individual components (welds, bolts,
and rivets). Such an assumption is unconservative, and the
consequences could be disastrous.
Part 1 of this two-part edition of Design File will deal with
snug-tightened and pretensioned mechanical fasteners
combined with welds. Part 2 will address combining welds
with slip-critical, high-strength bolted connections.
Some Background
on Bolted Connections
Bolted joints are described in the AISC Specification for
Structural Joints Using ASTM A325 or A490 Bolts (June
23, 2000) as either snug-tightened, pretensioned, or slipcritical (p. 23). A snug-tightened joint has the condition of
tightness that is attained with a few impacts of an impact
wrench or the full effort of an ironworker using an ordinary
spud wrench to bring the plies into firm contact.(p. xi). A
pretensioned joint is one in which the bolts have been
installed in a manner so that the bolts are under significant
tensile load with the plates under compressive load (p. x).
Four acceptable methods are listed in Section 8.2: turn-of-
16
Return to TOC
Figure 1.
Adding Welds to
Mechanically Fastened Joints
Code Provisions
AWS D1.1, paragraph 2.6.3, goes on to discuss an acceptable situation in the third sentence. Bolts and welds can
be combined in the situation where a connection consists
of two separate components, as illustrated in Figure 1. On
the left is a welded connection, and on the right, a bolted
one. This is acceptable. Each part of the overall connection behaves independently, and thus, the Code provides
an exception to the principles as contained in the first part
of 2.6.3.
Return to TOC
17
The previous provisions are applicable for new construction. For existing structures, D1.1 paragraph 8.3.7, goes
on to say:
Use of Existing Fasteners. When design calculations
show rivets or bolts will be overstressed by the new
total load, only existing dead load shall be assigned to
them. If rivets or bolts are overstressed by dead load
alone or are subject to cyclic loading, then sufficient
base metal and welding shall be added to support the
total load.
The first sentence permits sharing of loads between
mechanical fasteners and welds if the structure is preloaded (i.e., any slip has already occurred), but only the
dead load can be assigned to the mechanical fastener.
Welds must be used to take up all the applied or live load.
No such sharing of loads is permitted when the mechanical
fasteners are already overloaded. When cyclic loading is
involved, no load sharing is permitted.
Figure 2a.
An Illustration
Consider a lap joint originally connected with snug-tight
bolts, as shown in Figure 2a. Additional capacity is being
added to the structure, and the connection and the
attached members must be increased to provide twice as
much strength. Figure 2b illustrates the basic plan to
strengthen the members. What should be done to the
connection?
Since the new steel is going to be joined to the old with fillet welds, the engineer decides to add some fillet welds to
the connection. Since the bolts are still in place, the initial
thought is to add only the welds required to transfer the
additional capacity of the new steel, expecting 50% of the
load to go through the bolts, and 50% through the new
welds. Will this be acceptable?
Lets first assume there is no dead load currently applied to
the connection. In this case, D1.1 paragraph 2.6.3 applies.
In this bearing type connection, the welds and bolts cannot
be considered as sharing the load. Thus, the specified
weld size must be large enough to carry the entire dead
and live load. The capacity of the bolts cannot be considered in this example.
Next, lets assume a dead load is applied. Further, lets
assume that the existing connection is adequate to transfer
the existing dead load. D1.1 paragraph 8.3.7 applies in this
case and the new welds are only required to carry the
increased dead load and the total live load. The existing
dead load can be assigned to the existing mechanical
fasteners.
18
Figure 2b.
Conclusion
In summary, the answer to the question Is this acceptable? depends on the loading conditions. In the first case
where no dead load was assumed, the answer is no.
Under the specific conditions of the second scenario, the
answer is yes. It cannot be concluded that the answer will
always be yes simply because dead load is applied. The
level of dead load, the adequacy of the existing mechanical
connection, and the nature of final loading (whether static
or cyclic) could change the answer.
All of the above apply to mechanical fasteners of the pin
type. Part 2 will deal with high strength, slip-critical bolted
connections in combination with welds. The technical
aspects of the content of part 2 are currently being evaluated by technical committees. The work of the committees
may not be complete in time for the next issue of Welding
Innovation. Part 2 will be forthcoming just as soon as all
the technical information is available.
Return to TOC
Introduction
Safeco Field, the new home of the
Seattle Mariners baseball team,
features a unique retractable roof.
Modern arc welding enabled the design
and construction of the stadiums
spectacular tri-chord roof trusses,
which contribute both structurally and
aesthetically to the stadium. Arc
welding was also used for other critical
elements throughout the stadium, and
turned out to be the only suitable
method to meet the demanding
construction schedule.
Figure 1. Aerial view of computer model with the roof in the field position.
Project Description
The retractable roof spans 655 ft.
(200 m) over the stadium, providing
the ballpark with a giant umbrella
(Figure 1) to prevent the potential for
rained-out games in Seattles wet
climate. In its retracted position
(Figure 2), the roof is stored completely
off the stadium, over the Burlington
National Railroad right-of-way adjacent
to the ballpark.
The roof rides atop two 800-ft.-long
(244 m) runway structures, standing
100 ft. (30 m) tall on the south side
and 50 ft. (15 m) tall on the north side
of the stadium. The shorter runway on
the north side allows spectacular
views of Seattle and Puget Sound
from the seating bowl.
The three independent roof panels
cover 8.7 acres (3.5 hectares) and
weigh approximately 12,000 tons
(10,900 m tons). The largest, center
panel is 275 ft. (84 m) above the
playing field. The two lower panels
that slide underneath the center panel
Figure 2. Computer model of the Safeco Field roof in the retracted position.
19
20
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Welding Procedures
Minimize Distortion
It was critical that the fabricators
maintain the correct geometry, due to
the nature of the very large and complex weldments that are attached to
the truss chords. The fabricators
developed detailed welding procedures to minimize the distortion of the
plates and chord elements during the
welding process. As a result of their
diligent effort, the fit-up of the trusses
in the field was outstanding (Figure 4),
with a minimum number of field modifications required.
Welding Prevents
Corrosion
The entire roof structure is exposed
to the wet environment of the Pacific
Northwest. The welding details were
developed with special consideration
given to minimizing the potential corrosion of the structural steel. Joints
were designed so that all surfaces
could be prepainted before assembly.
Field welding was minimized to prevent
potential corrosion of heat-affected
areas where the paint would be
burned off in the welding process.
Where field welding was required,
special details were provided to sealweld inaccessible areas that could not
be painted after welding. Shop sealwelds (Figure 5) were used in many
applications, such as large, round lid
enclosures which were welded to the
diagonal braces as they pass through
the roof membrane. These lids act as
a top to a round PVC enclosure that is
part of the roof membrane (Figure 6).
Summary
On this project, welding was used
instead of bolting wherever possible
because of its superior construction
fit-up and corrosion resistance. Only
arc welding provided the designers the
latitude to create such a complex and
elegant structure, the first of its kind in
the world.
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21
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
JAMES F. LINCOLN
ARC WELDING FND.
The
James F. Lincoln
Arc Welding
Foundation
Seattles Safeco Field features a unique retractable roof. See story on page 19.
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