Flare-bevel-gorve PJP Inspection

[fabengr]

I am working on a job where the design engineer has called for a Flare-bevel-gorve weld with a specific effective throat (a PJP weld).
I cannot find in the D1.1 how to measure the weld once it has been placed. This project is subjected to a great deal of inspection.
These are HSS 8x8x5/8 members.

 

[ajh1]

AISC Section J2.1a and Table J2.2 define the assumed effective throat for flare bevel groove welds as follows:
GMAW and FCAW-G weld process 5/8 R
SMAW and FCAW-S weld process 5/16 R
SAW weld process 5/16 R
R = radius of joint surface ( can be assumed to be 2t for HSS)
These values assume that the weld is filled flush to the surface of a round bar or a 90 degree bend in a formed section or rectangular HSS.
Larger effective throats than shown in Table J2.2 are permitted for a given welding procedure specification (WPS) provided the fabricator can establish by qualification the consistent production of such larger effective throat.

 

[Duwe6]

You can't measure the effective throat after the weld is 'old and cold'. You *have* to know what the joint geometry was at the time the root was welded. With tube-steel, the as-fabricated radius can be measured after the face. But you don't know what the fit-up gap was [so you are forced to assume a zero gap - smaller throat], and you don't know how much penetration the welder got when he/she ran the root [so you are forced to assume that the penetration was zero].

Fit-up and In-process inspections by knowlegable welding inspectors is invaluable for PJP's. After the fact, it takes a very good ultrasound tech to determine the depth of penetration & effective throat, and the steel adjacent to the tested welds will need to be smooth and clean to allow good scanning by the shearwave transducer.

In-process inspections usually save money. Inspections of 'old and cold' welds cost money; sometimes a lot of money, when defects are found that happened again & again. A good welder is repetitive - the welds will be almost all good, or almost all bad. Kind of late when all the welding is done.