Ductility and Strength Requirements for Base Metal in Welded T-Joints"

T-joint specimens were tested in tension to investigate the ductility and strength requirements for the base metal; particularly with heavy section wide-flange columns as the transverse member loaded in the through-thickness direction. The column sections were obtained over a range of years from four steel mills (integrated and electric furnace) under four different ASTM specifications. Sulfur levels ranged from 0.003 to 0.043% and carbon from 0.05 to 0.15%. The through-thickness strength of the column flanges exceeded 690 MPa, well above any possible demand that could come from ordinary structural steel. Because there is no yielding of the column flanges in the through-thickness direction, the lower ductility in this direction should not be a concern, even if the sulfur levels are at the upper limits of the ASTM A992 specification. ©2002 American Society of Civil Engineers