TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF EXECUTION OF WELDED JOINTS IN HOLLOW SECTIONS

Steel structures designed according to Eurocode 3 are executed in accordance with the provisions of the standard PN-EN 1090-2, which is referred to in Eurocode 3. In addition, the standard PN-EN 1090-2 refers to in its content a number of welding standards, e.g. PN-EN ISO 9692-1. These standards provide guidelines for welded connections, which should be applied in the case of joints connecting steel hollow sections. Analysis of above-mentioned provisions revealed that for fillet welds they are simultaneously fulfilled only if the inclination angles of the elements are in the range of 70°–100°. According to recommendations of PN-EN 1993-1-8 and EN 1090-2, the same weld type around the perimeter of the element connected to the chord of lattice structure is possible to execute only for inclination angle lower than 60°. Discrepancies between these standards also exist with regard to the interpretation of the dimension of the flare groove welds in connections of rectangular hollow sections with the same width. In addition, analyses of the recommendations for welding in cold-formed zones indicate that, for steel grades currently used for the production of cold-formed rectangular hollow sections, welding in these zones is not permitted only for profiles with wall thickness equal to 12.5 and 16 mm. The above-mentioned issues point out the need for mutual unification of standards for the design and execution of steel joints in hollow sections.

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[2] Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to construction products OJ No L 40 of 11 February 1989.

[3] A. Czechowski, J. Łaguna, Elementy konstrukcji jako wyroby budowlane w świetle przepisów, Inżynier budownictwa, 5/2014.

[4] PN-EN 10219-1 Cold formed welded structural hollow sections of non-alloy and fine grain steels. Technical delivery requirements.

[5] PN-EN 10219-2 Cold formed welded structural hollow sections of non-alloy and fine grain steels. Tolerances, dimensions and sectional properties.

[6] PN-EN 1090-1 Execution of steel structures and aluminium structures. Part 1 - Requirements for conformity assessment of structural components.

[7] PN-EN 1090-2 Execution of steel structures and aluminium structures. Part 2 - Technical requirements for steel structures.

[8] PN-EN 1090-3 Execution of steel structures and aluminium structures. Part 3 - Technical requirements for aluminium structures.

[9] PN-EN 1990 Eurocode 0. Basis of structural design.

[10] PN-EN 1993-1-1 Eurocode 3. Design of steel structures. Genetral rules and rules for buildings.

[11] PN-EN 1993-1-8 Eurocode 3. Design of steel structures. Design of joints.

[12] PN-EN ISO 9692-1 Welding and allied processes. Types of joint preparation. Manual metal arc welding, gas-shielded metal arc welding, gas welding, TIG welding and beam welding of steels.

[13] Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC.