What is a full strength penetration weld? Part 2 1

[imsengr]

Hi all,

Can someone please elaborate on what a "full strength penetration weld"? I needed to specify some welding to join two pieces of a cut wide flange section. I was told to use a "full strength penetration weld". Is this description sufficient to tell the contractor what to do. I would have thought something like a butt weld might work. Can I specify a certain thickness of butt weld, for instance, for this work? What kind of a weld is it? Butt weld? Fillet? What does "full strength" and "penetration" mean? Someone in the structural engineering forum (hence the Part 2) said that "full strength" is not the same as "full penetration" and suggested posting here.

Thank you much.

 

[metengr]

A full strength, penetration weld indicates that the workpieces are joined using a butt weld that completely fuses with each base metal being joined. In other words, the base metal strength is considered the same across the weld joint. The weld joint can be a single-vee or double- vee configuration to assure full base metal thickness penetration of the weld deposit.

If you had a fillet or partial penetration weld joint, a strength reduction factor would be used as some percentage of the base metal strength.

 

[deanc]

http://www.pipingnews.com/welding.htm

http://www.khake.com/page89.html

 

[HgTX]

Are you sure your specifier wasn't misusing terms and really meant "full penetration weld"? (And the AWS formal term is "complete joint penetration groove weld".)

The CJP could be considered "full strength" as long as you used matching strength electrodes. CJP welds by definition are the full thickness of the base metal.

Hg

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[arto]

Would you consider ASME UW-15c Joint efficiencies [74% groove tension; 60% groove shear; 49% fillet shear] thus a "t" fillet & "t" groove = 109% the strength of the thinner jnoined part?