- Large-scale steel structures are not created on the site. Assembly groups are prefabricated under shop conditions and transported to the site, where the final assembly process takes place. Due to the advantages of manufacturing in a workshop, e.g. the defined ambient conditions, those assembly parts are as big as the transportation possibilities. The final assembling on the site is exposed to the ambient conditions there, which is why assembling on site may be conducted at temperatures below freezing point. Thus high cooling rates induce phase transformations at low temperature and therefore local hardening and are also affecting shrinkage, distortion and residual stresses.
Before approving the construction designers need to estimate occurring shrinkage, distortions and residual stresses never knowing what the construction workers on the site really do. It is impossible to supervise or monitor the whole assembling process. That is why it is necessary to think about possible worst cases like clamped welding components, although aLarge-scale steel structures are not created on the site. Assembly groups are prefabricated under shop conditions and transported to the site, where the final assembly process takes place. Due to the advantages of manufacturing in a workshop, e.g. the defined ambient conditions, those assembly parts are as big as the transportation possibilities. The final assembling on the site is exposed to the ambient conditions there, which is why assembling on site may be conducted at temperatures below freezing point. Thus high cooling rates induce phase transformations at low temperature and therefore local hardening and are also affecting shrinkage, distortion and residual stresses.
Before approving the construction designers need to estimate occurring shrinkage, distortions and residual stresses never knowing what the construction workers on the site really do. It is impossible to supervise or monitor the whole assembling process. That is why it is necessary to think about possible worst cases like clamped welding components, although a clamp was not to be set. Construction workers might apply fixations in order to adhere to specifications, thus creating residual stresses which may have a significant impact on the fatigue behaviour of a construction.
In this paper large-scale specimens are investigated. These were derived from actual bridge girders and welded in a climatic chamber simulating different cooling rates on the site (up to -10°C). Welding experiments were accompanied by distortion and temperature field monitoring. Afterwards residual stresses were determined using x-ray diffraction. Finally welding distortions and residual stresses are calculated using numerical welding simulation. The simulated and experimental results are compared.…