DES1.2 Basics of Weld Design

Topic 2
Basics of Weld Design – Design

Principles
Objectives
On completion of this topic, you should have:
(a) understood the difference between forces and stresses;
(b) reviewed factors that affect the calculation of forces or actions on welds;
(c) reviewed the calculation of the detailed actions that act on and affect weld design;
(d) reviewed the procedures to calculate the fundamental geometrical properties of weld
groups;
(e) calculated the stresses on simple weld groups; and
(f) considered weld design from the viewpoint of fracture mechanics.
Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Topic 2: Basics of weld design – design principles DES1.2 1
© University of Wollongong 2001. Cranfield University 2008/2009. All rights reserved.
Readings
Prescribed text
Hicks, John, Welded Joint Design, 3rd edition, Woodhead Publishing Ltd, Cambridge, UK.
Benham P. P., Crawford R. J.. Armstrong C. G. 1996, Mechanics of Engineering Materials,

2nd ed, Longman

Notes
Introduction
The designer needs to be aware of basic structural mechanics so that the forces to be
carried by the weld in a structure are determined in order to achieve a safe and
economical welded structure, whether the forces are static or dynamic. These forces are
converted to stresses in the weld for design purposes.
Study of the stresses and strains in different types of structures is generally known as
“Strength of Materials”, and is considered in detail in several text books, for instance, Gere
and Timoshenko (1991), and Benham et al. (1996). The objective of this topic is to provide
an overview of the main principles in analysis of structures.
In to order determine the strength requirements of welds, it is necessary first to develop an

understanding of stresses and strains in structures. In practice, design rules are
determined both by analysis, and also by knowledge and experience encoded in
standards.
Geometrical properties
Benham and
Crawford In order to analayse different structures, some properties of geometric shapes must be
Appendix A defined.
Figure 1. Typical Cross Sections of Structural Components
A range of beam cross sections are shown in Figure 1. The strength of a structure will
depend not only on the material properties, but also on the geometric shape. For instance,
the I shape beam illustrated will resist bending more effectively than a square beam of the
same cross-sectional area. Calculations of strength and deflections in beams require
definition of basic geometrical properties.

Centroid
The centroid is a point in an area such that the distance of the centroid from the x or y axis
is equal to the average distance of the area from the axis. In other words, if we draw a line
through the centroid parallel to the x-axis, then the area above the line will equal the area
below the line, and similarly for the y-axis. This is illustrated in Figure 2 for a rectangle.
FIGURE 2. Centroid of a Rectangle
X a
In this simple example, the centroid of a rectangle is given by

a b
x=X + y =Y +
2 2
For a homogeneous material, the centroid is the centre of gravity.
Figure 3. Moments of Area

In mathematical terms, the first moments of area, Qx and Qy are defined by
Q x = ∫ ydA Q y = ∫ x.dA
and the centroid is at the point where the first moment of area about the centroidal axes is
zero. Hence the centroid is given by
Qy Qx
x= and y =
A A
The centroidal axes are at right angles to each other and pass through the centroid.
If the boundaries of the area can be represented by simple mathematical expressions, the
integrals can be evaluated. Tables of formulae for simple shapes are given in standard
references.
If an area is symmetric about an axis, the centroid must lie on that axis because the first
moment about an axis of symmetry equals zero. If an area is symmetric about a point the
centroid coincides with the centre of symmetry, and can be located by inspection.
The principal axes, which pass through the centroid and are at right angles to each other.
They are axes of symmetry, and are therefore parallel to the sides of a rectangle;
Second moment of area, (often called moment of inertia) is used to calculate the bending
stress and is defined by
I xx = ∫ y 2 dA I yy = ∫ x 2 .dA
I xx and I yy are the second moments of area about the principal axes
polar second moment of area, (called polar moment of inertia), is the sum of the second
moments of area about the principal axes, denoted as I zz = I xx + I yy
Use is frequently made of the parallel axis theorem in the determination of weld
geometric properties. This theorem allows the second moment of area, I, to be calculated
about any axis that does not pass through the centroid. It states that I = I xx + Ad 2 , if the
xx axis passes through the centroid. “A” represents the area of the cross section, and “d”
the distance between the centroidal axis and the displaced axis.
For a rectangle the centroid is located at the centre of the section. The principal axes are
parallel to the sides and pass through the centroid, so that it is apparent that the sum of
the first moment of the areas about the horizontal axis, say, is zero, allowing for the sign
convention that the moment arms below the axis are negative, while those above the axis
are positive.

The second moment of area about the horizontal principal axis is calculated as:
h
+
2
bh 3
I xx = ∫ by 2 .dy =
h 12
−
2
where h is the height and b is the width of the rectangle.
hb 3
Similarly, I yy =
12
If different axes are selected, the second moments of area will have different values. We
can calculate I about a different axis using the parallel axis theorem. For instance, if we
wanted to calculate the second moment of the area for the rectangle shown in figure 2
about the x-axis:
I xx = I xx − rec tan gle + Ad 2

= 1 ab 3 + (ab )(Y + b / 2)
2
12
SAQ 1: If b = 5mm and h = 100mm for a solid rectangular cross section in x and y
space, calculate the values of Ixx, Ivv and Izz about the centroid.
Comment on the results.
Forces
Benham et al.
Conditions of equilibrium for forces
pp. 1-5
There are six equations of equilibrium in three-dimensional space that must be satisfied.
Three of these equations concern unidirectional forces, and the other three equations
concern couples or moments in space.
Usually the forces and couples are resolved along a set of orthogonal axes, that is, axes at
right angles to each other. Directions are significant, so that the origin of coordinates must
be clearly defined. Figure 4 shows the positive directions for forces and couples. Positive
forces are directed along the X, Y and Z axes and the sense of direction is from the origin
of coordinates.

Figure 4. Axes for resolution of forces
The resolved components of the forces acting on a structure or a joint must be in

equilibrium. To satisfy equilibrium the following six equations, involving three sets of forces
and three sets of couples, need to be satisfied in three-dimensional space:
Σ Fx = 0; Σ Fy = 0; Σ Fz = 0; Σ Mx = 0; Σ My = 0; Σ Mz = 0.
These equations are the necessary conditions that must be satisfied by the forces and
couples. The stresses in the weld group can be determined by consideration of the
geometry of the weld group together with these forces.
Determination of force type on welds
The structural forces will develop direct and shear forces in the various parts of a weld
group. These components of the forces must be determined before the weld stresses can
be determined. However, before this step can be undertaken, the geometric properties of
the weld group must be determined, as indicated above.
Further consideration will be given later to the details of these calculations. For the present
we will consider the various types of forces that occur in trusses and beams.
Types of forces
Hicks, 3rd edn, Direct forces

pp. 17–18
Reference has already been made in Topic 1 to the direct tensile and compressive forces
that are carried by simple members that are long in relation to the size of their cross-
sectional dimensions. Truss members are typical of such members. The forces in these
trusses are determined from the equilibrium equations given above.

Figure 5 Simple Frame
A B
45o
Figure 6 Resolving Forces at B
FBC 45o
P
P+ FAB+ FBC=0
o
45
FAB
Consider the simple pin-jointed truss shown in Figure 5, where member AB is at 45° to
member BC. Joint B is subjected to a vertical force P. Resolution of forces both
horizontally and vertically at joint B give:
• Summing forces in the y-direction:
Fbcxcos45o = P
Fbc = 1.414xP (compression)
• Summing forces in the x-direction:
Fbcxcos45o = FAB
FAB = P
SAQ 2: If the cross-sectional area of member AB in the simple truss given earlier
is 500mm2 and the load P = 100kN, what is the stress?

Thin Shells under internal pressure
Benham et al., Suppose a long cylindrical shell is subjected to an internal pressure p. The internal
pp. 52-56 pressure acts on the walls of the cylinder to produce a circumferential stress, and the
pressure also acts on the ends to produce a longitudinal stress in the cylinder wall.
Figure 7 Long thin cylidrical shell with closed ends under internal pressure
Consider a small section of the cylinder, remote from the ends. If this is cut as shown to
create a semicircle, then by the principles of equilibrium, the force acting on the cut ends
must balance the force due to the pressure.
The total force on the cut ends is 2σ 1 .t for unit length where t is the wall thickness.
The force due to pressure is equal to that on the diametric plane through O, and is p.2r
pr
Hence 2σ 1 .t = p.2r and thus σ 1 =
t
Similarly, the total force on each closed end due to internal pressure is pπr 2 and this
must be balanced by the force across a circumferential section, σ 2 2πrt
pr
Hence the longitudinal stress σ 2 =
2t
A similar calculation can be performed for a thin spherical shell, to show that the direct
pr
stress in any direction is given by σ =
2t
It should be emphasised that these simple calculations refer only to thin shells: real
structures have finite thickness, and more complex analyses are required to obtain an
accurate estimate of stresses
Bending and shear forces

Benham et al., Bending moments and shear forces occur in beams and plates. In order to be able to
pp. 24-28 calculate these actions, it is necessary to be able to construct shear force and bending
moment diagrams. The diagrams follow from considerations of overall equilibrium of the
structure.
Consider a cantilever beam in a wall as shown in Figure 8 acted on by a point load P. It is

apparent that the end of the beam at the wall does not move up or down or rotate, hence
from the equilibrium equations, a reaction load V stops the beam moving up or down, and
a moment M stops the beam rotating.
Figure 8 Cantilever Beam
L P
M
Figure 9 Shear Force in a Cantilever beam
Firstly it is necessary to find the reactions about the support. Summing the forces in the
vertical direction gives:
V-P=0

Hence V = P.
Secondly if we sum the moments about the support:
M – PxL = 0
Hence M = PxL
The vertical reaction V creates a shear force in the beam. The shear force P is constant
along the length of the beam. A sign convention must be defined for consistency in
calculations. For shear forces, a clockwise couple produced by shear forces acting on an
element is taken as positive shear. We can now create a shear force diagram for the
beam of length L
Figure 10 Shear Force diagram for a cantilever beam
Free End
Support
0 L
The bending moment diagram is found by integrating the area under the shear force
diagram. Integrating the area means simply finding the area under the curve:
Figure 11 Bending moment diagram for a cantilever beam
x
L
0
PL
Area under the
shear force curve
M= -PL + Px at a point, x.
M = -PL
Initial value
M

Now consider the slightly more complicated example of a simply supported beam. Note
that simply supported means that the ends of the beam are free to rotate and there is no
moment applied.
Figure 12 Simply supported beam with a vertical load P
P
Summing Summing
torques about torques about
support A support B
Support A Support B
a L-a
FA FB
The first step is to calculate the reaction forces, FA and FB at the supports. This can be
done by summing the moments about each support.
Summing the moments about support A:
-Pxa + FBxL = 0
FB = Pa/L
Similarly summing the moments about support B:
- FAxL + Px(L-a) = 0
FA = P(L-a)/L
The Shear Force diagram and bending moment diagram are then as shown in Figure 13.
These two examples have shown how both the bending moments and shear forces can be
calculated. The bending moment can then be used to calculate the bending stress
and the shear force can be used to calculate the shear stress. This will be
described in the next section.

Figure 13 Shear and bending moment diagrams for simply supported beam
L
Shear Force, V
a
P(L-a)/L
-P
Pa/L
Maximum value is found by finding

the area under the shear force curve:
Pa(L-a)/L
Bending
Moment, M
Bending Verses Torsional Loads

Note the important difference between a bending and a torsional load which is illustrated in
figure 14. A bending load is caused by the force, F and is maximum at the support which
is the wall. The torsional load on the other hand is indicated by the torque, T and has a
constant value to the wall.
Figure 14 Bending and Torsional Loads on a Beam

Stresses
Bending stresses
Benham et al.
Having found the bending moment, M it is possible to calculate the bending stress with the
pp. 134-139
following formula:
σ = Myc/I
Where:
yc is the distance from the neutral axis to the further most point on the section –
see figure below:
yc
I is the second moment of the area which has already been discussed.
An alternative equation that is often used is:
σ = M/Z
Where Z is the section modulus and effectively equals I/yc. All companies that
manufacture structural sections (like Corus) have tables of the second moment of the area
as well as the section modulus to help designers.
Note that you should familiarise yourself with an example of how to do a bending
stress calculation which is provided in the attached readings.
SAQ 3: Calculate the maximum flexural stress for a rectangular cross section of
width 50mm and 200mm depth, subjected to a bending moment of 1500
Nm.

Torsional stresses
A similar expression can be found for the torsional stress (which is a shear stress):
τ =Tr/Ip
Where:
r is the outer radius (for a cylindrical section)
Ip is the polar second moment of the area.
For a circle (i.e. a solid cylinder):
Ip = πr4/2
for a thin tube:
Ip = 2πr3t, where t is the thickness.
SAQ 4: Calculate the shear stress in a tube of diameter 150mm and wall
thickness 4mm when subjected to a torsional couple of 200Nmm.
Stress resultants
In weld calculations the stress is usually expressed as the force per unit length, regardless
of whether or not it is caused by direct or shear stresses. However, the combination of
these stresses is carried out vectorially. The Cosine Rule is used generally for two vectors
inclined to each other. If two components of the force per unit length are not acting at right
angles to each other use the cosine rule to determine the resultant force:
R2 = R12 + R22 – 2 R1 R2 cos θ (2)
where
R
R = resultant vector value of force per unit length θ
R2
R1, R2 = calculated vector values of force per unit
R1
length
θ = angle opposite to vector R.

Stresses on simple weld groups
BS5950-1:2000 The nominal stresses in simple welded joints are largely determined by the assumption of
pp. 144-151 elastic behaviour of the weld and the level of the shear stress on the throat of the weld.
The external forces are used in the appropriate analyses so as to furnish the shear stress
on the weld throat due to each of the different types of external force.
National standards, such as BS449, BS1011, and BS5950-1 Structural use of Steelwork in
Buildings, give information on the design and detail of welded connections. This includes
butt, fillet and lap joints. Diagrams are given explaining the effective throat size of fillet
welds including deep penetration fillet welds. Section 6 of BS5950 also gives guidance on
calculating the capacity of fillet welds.
Fracture mechanics (this is discussed in greater depth in Topic

10)
Callister
pp. 225-227
The influence of fracture mechanics on the design of welds will be discussed in more detail
later but some reference will be made now to the overall effects.
Brittle, or sudden, fracture occurs in steel when the stress at the tip of a notch, welding
crack, fatigue crack, or other defect causing a high stress level is present, together with
adverse environmental conditions. The susceptibility of the steel to the propagation of the
crack is temperature dependent, as there is a temperature sensitivity of steel to crack
propagation. This effect is measured as fracture toughness. The reference temperature for
the fracture toughness to change rapidly is the transition temperature of the steel. At
temperatures below the transition temperature the energy required to propagate a crack is
low, while at temperatures above the transition temperature the energy required is high.
Unfortunately, the transition temperature for steels occurs commonly at about room
temperatures. Consequently, care is required in quality control, or assurances are needed
to ensure that the transition temperature is below the range intended of operation of the
structure under consideration.
In addition, residual stresses caused by the welding process, or by additional restraint, can
worsen the situation.
The ideal steps to overcome the problem are:
(a) choose a steel that has a transition temperature below the operating conditions for
the structure, so that the fracture toughness is high;

(b) remove the residual stresses by heat treatment, although the yield stress of the steel
will be reduced;
(c) keep the steel sections as small as possible, as thicker sections favour the formation
of triaxial-stress conditions which are more conducive to crack propagation; and
(d) be aware of the effect of dynamic loads, as these forces can lead to crack
development by fatigue initially, before brittle fracture occurs after the crack reaches
a critical size.
Summary
A review has been presented of the types of forces or actions that can act on weld groups,
and the means of their calculation. Additionally, the calculation of the necessary geometric
properties has been given. Together, the forces and the geometric properties allow the
stresses to be calculated on weld groups. Reference is made to the need for consideration
of fracture mechanics in weld design.

Standards related to design and Performance of Welded
Structures
The list below details standards relating to this topic. It is recognized that these standards
are periodically subject to change, superseded or withdrawn and hence the list may not be
complete and will not be kept up to date. Note: A search revealed that there are 117 British
Standards relating to Design and Welding covering a wide range of applications some of
which have been included in the table below.
ISO 1071 – 1 1997 Steel Structures part 1: Materials and Design.

ISO 14347 Fatigue design procedure for welded hollow
section joints. Recommendations
ISO 9692 / BS EN 29692 1992 Metal arc welding with covered electrode, gas
shielded metal arc welding and gas welding –
joint preparations for steel.
BS 449 – 2 1969 Specification for the use of structural steel in
building.
BS EN 1011 – 2 2001 Recommendations for welding of metallic
materials – Arc welding of ferritic steels
materials – Arc welding of stainless steels
materials – Arc welding of aluminium and
aluminium alloys
BS 2573 – 1 1983 Rules for the design of cranes. Part 1:
Specification for classification, stress
calculations and design criteria for structure
BS 2633 1987 Class 1 arc welding of ferritic steel pipework
for carrying fluids
BS2654 1989 Specification for manufacture of vertical steel
welded non-refrigerated storage tanks with
butt welded shells for the petroleum industry
BS 2790 1992 Specification for design and manufacture of
shell boilers of welded construction
BS2971 1991 Class 2 arc welding of carbon steel pipework
for carrying fluids
BS4677 1984 Arc welding of austenitic stainless steel
pipework for carrying fluids
BS 5400 – 3 2000 Code of practice for design of steel bridges
BS 5950 – 1,5 2000 Structural use of steelwork in building. Code
of practice for design of cold formed thin
gauge sections
BS 6399 1996 Code of practice : Loading for buildings: 1,
dead and imposed loads. 2, wind loads. 3,
imposed roof loads.

BS 7608 1993 Code of practice for fatigue design and
assessment of steel structures.
BS 7910 2005 Guides to methods for assessing the
acceptability of flaws in metallic structures.
BS7777 – 2 1993 Flat – bottomed, vertical, cylindrical storage
tanks for low temperature service –
Specification for the design and construction
of single, double and full containment metal
tanks for the storage of liquefied gas at
temperatures down to -165°C
BS7777 – 4 1993 Flat – bottomed, vertical, cylindrical storage
tanks for low temperature service –
Specification for the design and construction
of single, containment tanks for the storage of
liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen or liquid argon.
BS 8010 – 2.8 1992 Code of practice for pipelines. Pipelines on
land: Design, construction and installation.
Steel for oil and gas.
BS8118 – 1 1991 Structural use of aluminium – code of practice
for design.
CP 2010 – 2 1970 Code of practice for pipelines. Design and
construction of steel pipelines in land
PD 5500 2003 Specification for unfired fusion welded
pressure vessels
PD 6497 1982 Stresses in horizontal cylindrical pressure
vessels supported on twin saddles: a Stresses
in horizontal cylindrical pressure vessels
supported on twin saddles: a derivation of the
basic equations and constants used in G.3.3
of BS5500:1982
BS EN 13458 – 2 2002 Cryogenic vessels. Static vacuum insulated
vessels. Design, fabrication, inspection and
testing
AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code - Steel


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Topic 2

Basics of Weld Design – Design

(a) understood the difference between forces and stresses;

(e) calculated the stresses on simple weld groups; and

(f) considered weld design from the viewpoint of fracture mechanics.

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Benham P. P., Crawford R. J.. Armstrong C. G. 1996, Mechanics of Engineering Materials,

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

In to order determine the strength requirements of welds, it is necessary first to develop an

Figure 1. Typical Cross Sections of Structural Components

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

FIGURE 2. Centroid of a Rectangle

In this simple example, the centroid of a rectangle is given by

Figure 3. Moments of Area

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

where h is the height and b is the width of the rectangle.

I xx = I xx − rec tan gle + Ad 2

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

The resolved components of the forces acting on a structure or a joint must be in

Determination of force type on welds

Hicks, 3rd edn, Direct forces

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Figure 6 Resolving Forces at B

• Summing forces in the y-direction:

Fbc = 1.414xP (compression)

• Summing forces in the x-direction:

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Bending and shear forces

Consider a cantilever beam in a wall as shown in Figure 8 acted on by a point load P. It is

Figure 8 Cantilever Beam

Figure 9 Shear Force in a Cantilever beam

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Secondly if we sum the moments about the support:

Figure 10 Shear Force diagram for a cantilever beam

Figure 11 Bending moment diagram for a cantilever beam

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Figure 12 Simply supported beam with a vertical load P

Summing the moments about support A:

Similarly summing the moments about support B:

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Maximum value is found by finding

Bending Verses Torsional Loads

Figure 14 Bending and Torsional Loads on a Beam

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

An alternative equation that is often used is:

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

r is the outer radius (for a cylindrical section)

Ip is the polar second moment of the area.

For a circle (i.e. a solid cylinder):

for a thin tube:

Ip = 2πr3t, where t is the thickness.

R2 = R12 + R22 – 2 R1 R2 cos θ (2)

θ = angle opposite to vector R.

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Fracture mechanics (this is discussed in greater depth in Topic

The ideal steps to overcome the problem are:

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

ISO 1071 – 1 1997 Steel Structures part 1: Materials and Design.

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

Module DES1 Design of Welded Structures

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