brittle fracture or other concerns for bin wall

[ssylvest]

Should we particularly be concerned with either brittle fracture or any other similar issues in the use of ASTM A572 GR 50 plates in the design of some large structural bins and hoppers for coal storage. It will be located in northern US climates. As a structual engineer, we are most familiar with designing with mild steels on the premise it will behave elastic or plastic yeilding. Are there some special concerns or specifications (such as minimum notch toughness) that should be specified to make sure our design is in fact a ductile type behavior. Thanks for any suggestions or recommended references.

 

[metengr]

ssylvest;
To guard against low notch toughness behavior on the coldest of winter days, you can specify Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact supplemental testing as part your client's steel plate procurement specification. I would require a minimum value of 20 ft-lbs at -20 deg F.

Also, make sure that the welders and welding procedures are qualified to AWS D1.1.