PAPER 2 Assemblies incorporating structural sections By J.S.Allen INTRODUCTION Distortion is a general term used to describe the various movements and shrinkages that take place when heat from cutting or welding processes is applied. All welding causes a certain amount of shrinkage and in some situations will also cause deformation from the original shape. Longitudinal and transverse shrinkage may only be a minor problem but angular distortion, bowing and twisting can present considerable difficulties. ‘A full awareness of the problems of distortion is vital to all concerned with welding including the designer, detailer, shop foreman and the welders, as each in their field can cause difficulties through lack of understanding and care. Some distortion effects can be corrected but it is much more satis- factory to plan to avoid distortion and thereby avoid the difficulties and cost of straightening to achieve final acceptability of the job. ‘TYPES OF DISTORTION Consider a single run of fillet weld (Fig.1) made on a 'T' section. On cooling the weld metal will induce a longitudinal contraction, a transverse contraction and an angular distortion of the upstanding leg of the assembly. A similar section (Fig.2) with double weld runs will induce greater longitudinal and transverse contraction and the combined forces will produce an angular distortion or bowing of the table and the 'T’. The longitudinal shrinkage is likely to be about 1mm per 3m of weld and transverse contraction also about 1mm provided the leg length of the weld does not exceed 5/4 of the plate thickness. The contractions produced by a single V butt weld (Fig. 3) induce longi- tudinal and transverse shrinkage producing angular distortion and possibly some bowing. The transverse contraction will be between 1.5mm and 3mm and the longitudinal contraction about 1mm in 3m. The shrinkage figures quoted are for steel but these will vary for other materials according-to their coefficient of expansion. Stainless steel and aluminium will of course distort more than steel. The reasons for angular distortion are shown in (Fig. 4). The first run of weld cools, contracts and draws the plates together. The second run has the same shrinkage effect but its contraction is restricted by the solidified first run which acts as a fulcrum for angular distortion. Subsequent runs increase the effect and is only slightly influenced by the counter action of the capping weld. The angular distortion is a direct function of the number of filler runs and not the plate thickness although of course the two are related. To achieve the maximum cross section of weld metal per run, it is advisable to use the largest practicable size of electrode. It will be seen that the use of a double V preparation to balance the volume of weld about the centre of gravity of the section will result in the eliminationof angular distortion. To allow for the effect of back chipping asymmetric preparations are often used to advantage, but it must be remembered that longitudinal and transverse contractions will still be present. The figures quoted will enable the total contractions in a structure to be assessed, but a number of factors will affect the result. The fit-up is most important as any excess gap will affect the weld volume and increase shrinkage. The largest size of electrode should be used and where possible semi-automatic and automatic processes should be used to reduce the total heat input and the shrinkage to a minimum. In certain circumstances residual rolling stresses in the parent material can have considerable effect and may cause otherwise similar sections to re-act differently. The extent of final distortion will result from a com- bination of the inherent stresses and those introduced by welding. METHODS OF CONTROL All sections which are welded will shrink in their length and the member is either to be fabricated long and cut to length after welding or the shrinkage estimate should be allowed for during the fabrication of the sections. For the control of angular distortion and bowing there are two methods in common use. (a) Prebend ‘The section is pre-bent in the opposite direction to that in which it is expected to bend. Welding is then carried out under restraint. When cool, and the clamps are removed, the section should spring straight. There are no rules, only trials and experience can determine the extent of pre-bend for any particular member (see Fig. 5). (b) Clamp together and stress relieve The units are held straight by clamps whilst the welding is carried out and then stress relieved ina suitable furnace. This method is expensive but worthwhile on complex units where machining is a subsequent operation (see Fig.6). EFFECT OF DESIGN ‘A good welded design will have the minimum amount of weld metal consistent with the required strength; bending facilities should be used where possible to minimise the number of welded joints. Welded sections, should if possible, be designed with their welds balanced about the neutral axes of the sections. If this can be achieved, little distortion will occur and only allowances for the overall contraction need be made. Figure 7 shows a 'T' section in which the welds are disposed above the horizontal axis of the section. This will distort in the manner illustrated from the effect of longitudinal shrinkage. The 'I' section however, with welds balanced about both axes will remain straight after welding. It is important to realise that if the web is not on the vertical centre line of the section, lateral distortion will be produced. Over-welding is a serious danger and all details should be considered, even small cleats. The optimum size of weld should be specified on the draw- ing. The amount of distortion is directly proportional to the amount of weld metal and it is bad practice to specify ‘weld on' or ‘weld all round’. Theee cumulative shrinkage effect of a number of small cleats can produce a bow in a column as shown in Fig.7. DISTORTION EFFECTS AND CONTROL ON VARIOUS FORMS OF CONSTRUCTION (a) Distortion in light angle frames and latticed girders ‘The greatest danger in this type of construction lies in over-welding and considerable distortion may result from fully welded lap joints in light angles; intermittent welding is generally preferable. ‘The order in which individual joints are welded rarely effects the final result, but it is good practice to sequence the welds so that heat build up is kept to a minimum. The normal fabrication procedure for light frames is: (1) Set out and tack weld or use tack bolts. (2) Complete any butt welds and then make all fillet welds from one side. (3) Turn over frame and complete welding. ‘There is usually no need to weld up the tack bolt holes unless the appear- ance is unacceptable. The quality of welds in such small holes is often suspect and inconsequential to the overall strength of the assembly. (b) Welding of 'T' and 'I' sections A 'T’ section with unbalanced welds about one of its axes will distort. To counter this effect it will be necessary to pre-bend the section either by clamping to a welding table, or by clamping two sections back to back as illustrated (see Fig. 8). In fabricating 'I' sections it is first necessary to consider the cross distortion which may occur in the flanges. In some cases this may produce an unacceptable result. The distortion figures would be lower for machine welding but, for relatively wide and thin flanges, could still be unacceptable. The most satisfactory method of counteracting this effect is to pre-bend the complete flange plate by pressing or rolling. If such facilities are not available, the flanges can be clamped to a welding grillage over suitable packing, or alternatively, two sections can be clamped back to back with a double thickness of packing. Heavy plate sections Imown as ‘strong backs’ may be used to produce the same effect. It is important that clamps or strong backs are placed at close intervals to avoid a ripple effect at the flange edge. To avoid the necessity of making allowances for overall welding shrinkage the sections can be fabricated from stock lengths or from material received from the steel supplier with its positive length tolerance and the completed members cut to exact length after welding. In all cases important holing should be left until after welding. (c) Fabrication of girders Butt joints in flanges or webs of girders should be completed before the girders are assembled into 'I' form. Extension pieces should be clamped at each end of these joints. These pieces should be of the same thickness as the plate material and prepared with the same welding preparation. Suitably bent flats can be adopted but this method is less satisfactory. Extension pieces are removed after the completion of the welding and the flange edges carefully dressed with a suitable grinding disc. The direction of weld runs should be alternated to avoid a tendency for thejoint to distort in plan. It may be necessary to balance the welding of the butt joints by making a number of runs in one side of the V preparation and then turning the flange over to make runs in the second side and so on. Back chipping or gouging must be carried out before commencing welding on the second side. The use of suitable rotating fixtures should be considered to enable long flanges to be turned over without risk of cracking the weld when snatch lifted by cranes. On completion of all web and butt joints the girder will ke assembled into ‘I' form and if automatic welding is to be used for the main welds the stiffene should be omitted until these welds are complete. It may be advisable to assemble flanges slightly out of square to allow for the greater effect of the welding of the first side fillet welds (Fig.11). ‘Where hand welding is used on girders it is normal practice to fit the stiffeners before welding and these are usually sufficient to maintain the squareness of the flanges. After all welding is complete the girders can be machined to correct length. Holing can now be accurately introduced. (@) Rigid frames, portal frames, ete. To assist in the control of rigid frame structures it is frequently advantage to fabricate the frames in sub-sections making suitable allowances for shrinkage. After welding, these sub-assemblies are trimmed to exact lengt and are then laid out on a welding grid for the completion of the full section butt welds. (e) Box columns Light sections such as boxed channels or joists with welds balanced about the neutral axes, should give no difficulties provided suitable allowances have been made for overall shrinkage. The heavier boxes will have diaphragms and it is important that these ar machined perfectly square before assembly. Also the side plates must be fr from twist. The corner details will vary and such sections lend themselves automatic welding. Provided that no stresses are introduced into the section due to out of straight material, or unsquare diaphragms, no difficulties sh arise from welding. Again allowances must be made for overall shrinkage. (f) Heavy section splices It is usual to weld the flange joints before the web. The flange being thicker and hence requiring a greater number of runs of weld, will shrink more than the thinner web joint. Otherwise the web may buckle as a result of flange shrinkage. In the fabrication of such joints it is necessary to take this pro~ cedure into account. The web joint must be fabricated with a root gap larger’ than the drawing gap by an amount equal to the expected weld shrinkage of the flange joint. In heavy section joints a variation of the procedure should be adopted whereby the flange joints are completed in baance to about 2/3 of their weld volumes. At this stage the web joints may be welded and finally the flange welds. This method helps to minimise tensile stresses remaining in the web. CORRECTION OF DISTORTION Light sections can be straightened with the aid of hydraulic presses or spec!jo a SS EE Eh CC tC” bar bending or straightening machines. In many cases, however, sections will be too large for this type of straightening and it will be necessary to adopt techniques involving the application of further heat. Heat has to be applied to the side opposite to that carrying the welds which caused the distortion. The principles involved are as follows: If heat is applied locally toa member, the heated area will expand, but will be constricted by the surrounding area of cold metal whose strength will be much stronger than the heated area. Upon cooling the metal in the heated area will become compressed plastically to a lesser volume than before heating thus causing the member to curve in the required direction. ‘The application of heat has to be carefully controlled and considerable experi- ence is required before it can be successfully applied. ‘The method of heat application can also be used to straighten long strips of plate that have been oxy-acetylene flame cut along one edge, where release of the internal residual rolling stresses, and the effect of the heat of the cut have curved during cutting. The ‘heat should be applied in triangular areas ‘on the edge opposite to the flame cut edge. Also see diagram (Fig.12). REFERENCE ‘Control of distortion in welded fabrications’, 2nd edition 1976, The Welding Institute.