Structural Steel Testing 2

[NewbieInSE]

Dear Engineers,

This question is more of Testing than Designing Steel structure.

Say, a fabricator is erecting a steel structure as per design structural drawing. The owner wants to know how many tests need to be done for each type of member, say Rafter, Column, Bracing etc. and from where (web, flange etc.) and how many samples are to be collected for testing.

Does AISC or any other relevant code prescribe Number of tests to be done to ensure Quality Control? Any reference reading would be helpful. I hope i could make my question clear.

Thanks.

 

[JLNJ]

I presume we are talking about the USA here.

AISC does not require samples to be taken from new steel structures and pulled in the lab to confirm the steel’s physical properties. Material confirmation can be provided by the paper trail from the fabricator if required. Welder personnel certification should also be available from the fabricator and erector.

There are Special Inspections required by the building code. These generally point to AISC’s requirements. Most of the inspection provisions have to do with verification of connections (e.g. the correct number and sizes and type of bolts and welds installed with the proper technique).

High seismic areas have more inspection requirements than low seismic applications.

 

[NewbieInSE]

I checked but I couldn't make anything out of it,as i'm not much experienced yet.

Thank You very much. The location isn't the USA, but we follow the AISC code for Steel Design and other related resources. Our Code hasn't explicitly pointed out anything about the number of plate tests for built-up sections as it does for concrete cylinder tests, thats why looking out for AISC if it specifies any number of tests.
So what I understood is the owner can justify the material strength seeing test results from the Fabricator and special scrutiny is required for connections whether they meet design drawing.

 

[Ron]

What type of tests are you referencing? Do you want material property tests or fabrication QA tests such as radiography, ultrasonics or other nondestructive tests?

 

[NewbieInSE]

Yeah, Material Property tests, mainly tensile strength test for plates, and shear and tensile strength test for anchor bolts, nut bolts etc.

 

[phamENG]

Newbie - those aren't job specific. Those come from the mill. The steel mill that produces the material will have certified mill test reports that show the strength of the material. If, for some reason, you don't trust the mill's lab you could specify more - but I haven't seen that done. I'm in the US, so our QA/QC and external audits of mills may be more stringent that in your part of the world - I don't know.

Bolts are a little different. You'd have to check the Specification for Structural Joints Using High-Strength Bolts and AISC 360-10/-16, but there are certain percentages of bolts that should be destructively tested to verify the test reports if they are to be pre-tensioned (due to the processes in a mill, it's easier to guarantee that a certain plate has properties XYZ than all of the bolts in a lot). Check out this link for a little more information that should point you the right way.

 

[NewbieInSE]

Thank you, that's a good source of guidance, Thanks. Anyway, the bolts are not pretensioned.

 

[EdStainless]

Somewhere in AICS they will list the specifications that are allowed for various items, these will be ASTM specs. Within those specs are the rules that the mills must follow for manufacture and testing (NDT and destructive) for the metals.

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