Weld Stress Calculations

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Weld Strength Calculations

Introduction..... Relevant Standards..... Variables Associated With Welds.....

Guidance Principles..... Table Basic Weld Calcs...... Assessment of Fillet Welds.....
Examples of Fillet Welds Calcs..... Properties of Fillet Welds as lines.....
Example of torsion weld calc. using vectors..... Capacities of Fillet Welds..... Design Strength of Fillet Welds.....

Important Note: The notes below generally relate to methods generally provided in relevant text books and the the British Standard BS 5950.
The Eurocode BS EN 1993- 8 has superseded this standard. . I believe that the methods and examples provided below are generally in line
with the standard. I have provided notes on this latest code Structural connections-welds. These notes provide sufficient information to
enable corrections to the methods provided below :Actions, Resistance, limit state design etc. I shall modify this page before June 2013 to
identify these factors in detail.

Introduction

The following notes are general guidance notes showing methods of calculation of the strength and size of welds. Welded joints are
often crucially important affecting the safety of the design systems. It is important that the notes and data below are only used for
preliminary design evaluations. Final detail design should be completed in a formal way using appropriate codes and standards and
quality reference documents

Relevant Standards

BS 5950-1:2000 ..Structural use of steelwork in building. Code of practice for design. Rolled and welded sections
BS EN 10025-1:2004 - Hot rolled products of structural steels. General technical delivery conditions
BS EN 1993-1-8:2005- Eurocode 3 :Design of joints ..Replaces BS 449-2, BS 4604-1, BS 4604-2, BS 5400-3 and BS 5950-1

Variables related to welded joints

1. Strength of deposited weld material

2. Type of joint and weld..important
3. Size of weld ..important
4. Location of weld in relation to parts joined..important
5. Types of stress to which the weld is subjected
6. Conditions under which weld is carried out
7. Type of equipment used for welding
8. Skill of welder

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Weld Stress Calculations

Guidance Principles

A generous factor of safety should be used (3-5) and if fluctuating loads are present then additional design margins should be included
to allow for fatigue

Use the minimum amount of filler material consistent with the job requirement

Try to design joint such that load path is not not through the weld

The table below provides provides approximate stresses in, hopefully, a convenient way.

For the direct loading case the butt weld stresses are tensile/ compressive ? t for the fillet welds the stresses are assumed to be shear
? s applied to the weld throat.

For butt welded joints subject to bending the butt weld stresses result from a tensile/compressive stress ? b and a direct shear stress ?
s.
In these cases the design basis stress should be ? r = Sqrt (? b 2 + 4 ? s 2 )

For Fillet welded joints subject to bending the stresses in the fillet welds are all shear stresses. From bending ? b and from shear ? s
In these cases the design basis stress is generally ? r =Sqrt (? b 2 + ? s 2 )

The stresses from joints subject to torsion loading include shear stress from the applied load and shear stresses from the torque
loading. The resulting stresses should be added vectorially taking care to choose the location of the highest stresses.

Table of bracket weld subject to direct and bending stresses

Stress in
Weld Stress in Weld Stress in Weld
?b ?b ?b
Method of Loading Weldment Weldment Weldment
?s ?s ?s
Weld size Weld size (h) Weld size (h)
(h)

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Weld Stress Calculations

Assessment of Fillet Weld Groups ref notes and table Properties of Fillet Welds as lines

Important note: The methods described below is based on the simple method of calculation of weld stress as identified in BS 5950-
clause 6.7.8.2 . The other method identifed in BS 5950 - 1 clause 6.7.8.3 as the direction method uses the method of resolving the
forces transmitted by unit thickness welds per unit length into traverse forces (F T ) and longitudinal forces (F L ). I have, to some extent,
illustrated this method in my examples below

The method of assessing fillet welds groups treating welds as lines is reasonably safe and conservative and is very convenient to use.

a) Weld subject to bending....See table below for typical unit areas and unit Moments of Inertia

A fillet weld subject to bending is easily assessed as follows.

1) The area of the fillet weld A u ..(unit thickness) is calculated assuming the weld is one unit thick..
2) The (unit) Moment of Inertia I u is calculated assuming the weld is one unit thick..
3) The maximum shear stress due to bending is determined... ? b = M.y/I u
4) The maximum shear stress due to direct shear is determined.. ? s = P /A
5) The resultant stress ? r = Sqrt (? b 2 + ? s 2 )
6) By comparing the design strength p w with the resultant stress ? r the value of the weld throat thickness is calculated and then the
weld size.
i.e. if the ? r /p w = 5 then the throat thickess t = 5 units and the weld leg size h = 1,414t

a) Weld subject to torsion...See table below for typical unit areas and unit Polar moments of Inertia

A fillet weld subject to torsion is easily assessed as follows.

1) The area of the fillet weld A u (unit thickness) is calculated assuming the weld is one unit thick
2) The (unit) Polar Moment of Inertia J u is calculated assuming the weld is one unit thick.. The polar moment of inertia J = I xx + I yy
3) The maximum shear stress due to torsion is determined... ? t = T.r/J u
4) The maximum shear stress due to direct shear is determined.. ? s = P /A u
5) The resultant stress ? r is the vector sum of ? t and ? s . r is chosen to give the highest value of ? r
6) By comparing the design strength p w with the resultant stress ? r the value of the weld throat thickness is calculated and then the
weld size.
i.e. if the ? r /p w = 5 then the throat thickess t = 5 units and the weld leg size h = 1,414.t

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Examples of Fillet Weld Calculations

Example of Weld in Torsion..

P = Applied load = 10 000N

P w = Design Strength = 220 N/mm 2 (Electrode E35 steel S275) Design Strength
b = 120mm.
d = 150 mm
x = b 2 / 2(b+d) = 27mm.. (From table below)
y = d 2 / 2(b+d) = 42mm..(From table below)

Simple Method as BS 5950 clause 6.8.7.2

Direction Method as BS 5950 clause 6.8.7.3
..The vector sum of the stresses due to forces and moments should
not exceed the design strength P w L = Length of weld 1 unit thick =
(From table below) b + d = (120 + 150) = 270mm
A u = Unit Throat Area To obtain radius of Force from weld Centre of Gravity (Cog) .
A = 250-27 =223mm
= (From table below) b + d = (120 + 150) = 270mm2
To obtain radius of Force from weld centre of gravity Moment M = P.r = 10000.223 = 2,23.106 N.mm
A = 250-27 =223mm J u = Polar Moment of inertia for weld 1unit(mm) thick.

Moment M = P.r = 10000.223 = 2,23.106 N.mm = [(b+d) 4 - 6b 2 d 2 ] /12 (b+d) = 1,04.106 mm 4 /mm..(From Table)
J u = [(b+d) 4 - 6b 2 d 2 ] /12 (b+d) = 1,04.106 ..(From Table)

It is necessary to locate the point subject to the highest shear

stress..For a weld subject to only torsion this would be simply at the
It is necessary to locate the point subject to the highest shear point furthest from the COG. However because the weld is subject to
stress..For a weld subject to only torsion this would be simply at the torsion and direct shear the problem is more complicated. A normal
point furthest from the COG. However because the weld is subject to method of determining the stresses in these cases is to use vector
torsion and direct shear the problem is more complicated. A normal addition.
method of determining the stresses in these cases is to use vector
addition. It is generally prudent to calculate the total shear stress at both
positions, using the method below, and select the highest.. For this
It is generally prudent to calculate the total shear stress at both example the method used is to resolve the stresses in the x and y
positions, using the method below, and select the highest.. For this directions
example the method used is to resolve the stresses in the x and y
directions
First considering point Z

First considering point Z Horizontal distance from centroid r zh = 120-27= 93mm

Vertical distance from centroid r zv = 42mm
Horizontal distance from centroid r zh = 120-27= 93mm
Vertical distance from centroid r zv = 42mm
The vertical force /mm run F v = F sv + F tv
F sv = P /L = 10000/270 = 37 N/mm run
The vertical stress ? v = ? sv + ? tv
F tv = M.r zh /J u = 2,23.106 .93/1,04.10 6 = 199 N/mm run
? sv = P /A u = 10000/270 = 37 N/mm 2
F v = 236,45 N/mm run
? = M.r /J = 2,23.106 .93/1,04.10 6 = 199 N/mm 2
tv zh u
? v = 236,45 N/mm 2 The horizontal force /mm run for unit(mm) weld width F h = F sh + F th
F sh = 0
The horizontal stress ? h = ? sh + ? th F th = M.r zv /J u = 2,23.106 .42/1,04.10 6 = 90 N/mm run
? sh = 0 F h = 90 N/mm run

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? th = M.r zv /J u = 2,23.106 .42/1,04.10 6 = 90 N/mm 2 The resultant force on the weld/mm run at z

? = 90 N/mm 2 F r = Sqrt (F h 2 + F v 2 ) = 253 N/mm run

h
The resultant stress on the weld at z
? r = Sqrt (? h 2 + ? v 2 ) = 253 N/mm 2
Now considering point w

Horizontal distance from centroid r wh = 27mm

Now considering point w Vertical distance from centroid r wv = 150-42= 108mm

Horizontal distance from centroid r wh = 27mm

The vertical forces per mm run F v = F sv - F tv
Vertical distance from centroid r wv = 150-42= 108mm
F sv = P /L = 10000/270 = 37 N/mm run

The vertical stress ? v = ? sv - ? tv F tv = M.r wh /J u = 2,23.106 .27/1,04.10 6 = 57,9 N/mm run

F v = 20,86 N/mm run
? sv = P /A u = 10000/270 = 37 N/mm 2
? = M.r
tv wh /J = 2,23.106 .27/1,04.10 6 = 57,9 N/mm 2
u The horizontal force /mm run = F h = F sh + F th
? v = 20,86 N/mm 2 F sh = 0

F th = M.r wv /J u = 2,23.106 .108/1,04.10 6 = 231,6 N/mm run

The horizontal stress ? h = ? sh + ? th F h = 231,6 N/mm run
? sh = 0 The specific force on the weld at w
? th = T.r wv /J u = 2,23.106 .108/1,04.10 6 = 231,6 N/mm 2 F r = Sqrt (F h 2 + F v 2 ) = 232,5 N/mm run

? = 231,6 N/mm 2
h
The resultant stress on the weld at w
? r = Sqrt (? h 2 + ? v 2 ) = 232,5 N/mm 2 The maximum specific is greatest at z = 253 N/mm run....

Referring to weld capacities for longitudinal stresses P L for fillet welds

The maximum stress is similar but greatest at z .... Capacities of Fillet Welds the weld capacity for a 3mm weld with and
The design strength p w for the weld material is 220 N/mm 2 E35 Electrode S275 Steel is 462N /mm run. This weld would be more
The weld throat thickness should be 253 /220 = 1,15mm . than sufficient.
The weld size is therefore 1,414. 1,15 = 1,62mm use 3mm fillet weld

Example of Weld in Bending..

P= 30000 Newtons
d= 100mm
b= 75mm
y = 50mm
Design Stress p w = 220 N/mm 2 (Electrode E35 steel S275) Design Strength
Moment = M = 30000*60=18.10 5 Nmm

Simple Method as BS 5950 clause 6.8.7.2 Direction Method as BS 5950 clause 6.8.7.3

Unit Weld Area = A u = 2(d+b) =2(100+75) =350mm 2 Length of Weld of unit thickness = L = 2(d+b) =2(100+75) =350mm
Moment of Inertia / mm throat thickness = I u / mm
Unit Moment of Inertia = I u
= d 2 (3b+d) / 6 = 100 2 (3.75 +100) / 6 =5,42.10 5 mm 4 / mm
= d 2 (3b+d) / 6 = 100 2 (3.75 +100) / 6 =5,42.10 5 mm 4

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Weld Stress Calculations

F r = Resultant force per unit length of weld.

? r = Sqrt(? s 2 + ? b 2 ) F s = Shear force per unit length of weld.
? s = P / A u = 30000/350 = 85,71 N/mm 2 F b = Bending force per unit length of weld.

? b = M.y / I u = 18.10 5 . 50 / 5,42.105 = 166,05 N/mm 2

F r = Sqrt(F s 2 + F b 2 )
? = Sqrt(85,71 2 + 166.052 ) =186,86 N/mm 2
r F s = P / L = 30000/350 = 85,71 N per mm length of weld
? r / p w = 186,86 / 220 = 0,85 = Throat Thickness.....
F b = M.y / I u
( Throat thickness for ?< sub=""> = 220 N/mm 2 )
= 18.10 5 . 50 / 5,42.105 = 166,05 N per mm length of weld
Leg Length = Throat thickness *1,414 = 1,2mm use 3mm
weld thickness
F r = Sqrt(85,71 2 + 166.05 2 ) =186,86 N per mm length of weld.
For this case for the welds under greatest loading the type of loading is
Note : If a leg length h= 1,2mm is used in the equations in traverse loading. The bending stress is in line with horizontal element and the
relevant part of the "Table of bracket weld subject to direct shear stress is in line with vertical member.
and bending stresses" above a value of ? b = 198 N/mm
The angle of the resulting specific load to the horizontal element
and a value of ? s = 100 N/mm 2 results with a resultant
= arctan(85,71/166,5)= 27,5 o .
stress of Sqrt ( ? b 2 + ? s 2 ) = 222N/mm2 ..Which is in This is an angle with the weld throat ? = 45 o + 27,5 o = 72,5 o
general agreement with the above result
Referring to weld capacities table below.Weld Capacities K is calculated at
1,36 for this resultant direction of forces.

P T = a.K.pwfor a E35 Weld electrode used with S275 steel

p w = 220 N/mm 2 and therefore P T = a*300N/mm 2 ..

A 3mm weld (a = 2,1mm) therefore will therefore have a design capacity of
630 N/mm run and will easily be able to support the load of 186,86 N per mm
run

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Properties of weld groups with welds treated as lines -

It is accepted that it is reasonably accurate to use properties based on unit weld thickness in calculation to determine the strength of
welds as shown in the examples on this page. The weld properties I xx I yy and J are assumed to be proportional to the weld thickness.
The typical accuracy of this method of calculation is shown below...

This is illustrated in the tabled values below

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d b h I xx I yy J= I xx +I yy

Accurate 3 60 50 955080 108000 1063080

Simple 3 60 50 900000 108000 1008000

Error 6% 0 5%

Note: The error identified with this method is lower as h increases relative to d. This error is such that the resulting designs are
conservative.

Example illustrating use of stress vectors

Calculation based on real weld sizes Calculations based on unit values

1) The area of the welds This calculation uses equations from table below
(based on throat weld thickness at 0,707.5 = 3,5mm) for Area, centroid, and J u

1) Area of weld = 0,707.5.(2b+d)

Area = (57.3,5 + 2.55.3,5) = 584,5mm2

2) The moment of area about x-x = Area = 0,707.5.(2.55 + 50) = 565.6mm2

2) There is no need to calculate the Moment of Area with this method

M of Area = (57.3,5.3,5/2 + 2.55.3,5.(27.5 + 3,5)) = 12 284mm3

3) The centroid v = Moment of Area/Area 3) The centroid v = b 2 /(2b+d)

M of Area / Area = 21 mm v = 55 2 /(2.55+50)= 18,9mm

4) The radii rA , rB , rC & rD are calculated .. 4) The radii rA , r B , rC & r D are calculated ..
rA = rB = Sqrt ((58,5-21)^2 + 28,5^2 ) = 47,1 r A = r B = Sqrt ((55-18,9)^2 + 25^2 ) = 43,9
rC = rD = Sqrt ((21)^2 + 28,5^2 ) = 35,40... r C = rD = Sqrt (18,9^2 + 25^2 ) = 31,34

5) The angles ?A , ?B , ?C & ?D are calculated .. 5) The angles ?A , ?B , ?C & ?D are calculated ..

?A = ?B = tan -1 ((58,5-21)/ 28,5 ) = 52,7 o ?A = ?B = tan -1 ((55-18,9)/ 25 ) = 55,29 o

? = ? = tan -1 ((21)/28,5 ) = 36,4 o ...
C D ? = ? = tan -1 ((18,9)/25 ) = 37 o ...
C D
6) The direct shear stress on the area = Force /Area 6) The direct shear stress on the area = Force /Area

? S = 5000/584 = 8,56 N/mm 2 ? S = 5000/565,5 = 8,84 N/mm 2

7) The Moment on the weld group = Force.Distance to centroid 7) The Moment on the weld group = Force .distance to centroid

M = 5000.(100+21) = 6,05.105 Nmm M = 5000.(100+18,9) = 5.94.105 Nmm

8) The polar moment of inertia of the weld group = J = I xx + I yy 8) The Unit Polar moment of inertia of the weld group =
J u = 0.707.5.(8.b3 +6bd2 +d 3 )/12 + b 4 /(2b+d)
I yy = 2.[55.3,53 /12 + 3,5.55.(50/2 + 3,5/2) 2 ]

+ 57 3 .3,5/12 = 3,3.10 5 mm 4 J u = 0,707.5.(8.553 +6.55.50 2 + 50 3 )/12 - 55 3 /(2.55+50) = 4,69.105

I xx = 2.[55 3 .3,5/12 + 3,5.55.(55/2 + 3,5 - 21)2 ]

+ 3,5 3 57 / 12 + 3,5.57.(21-3,5/2) 2 = 2,097 .10 5 mm 4

J = I xx +I yy= 5,4.10 5 mm 4
9) The stress due to torsion
? TA = ? TB = M.rA /J.. and .. ? TC = ? TD = M.rC/J
9) The stress due to torsion

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? TA = ? TB = M.rA /J.. and .. ? TC = ? TD = M.rC/J ? TA = 5,94.105 Nmm.43,9mm / 4,69.105 mm 4 =55,6 N/mm 2

? TA = 6.05 5 Nmm.47,1mm / 5,4.10 5 mm 4 =52,8 N/mm 2 ? TC = ? TD = 5,94 5 Nmm.31,34mm / 4,69.105 mm 4 = 39,69N/mm2

? TC = ? TD = 6.05 5 Nmm.35,4mm / 5,4.10 5 mm 4 = 39,70N/mm10)

2 The resultant stresses ? RA , = ? RB and ? RA , = ? RB
are obtained by adding the stress vectos graphically as shown below
10) The resultant stresses ? RA , = ? RB and ? RA , = ? RB
are obtained by adding the stress vectos graphically as shown below ? RA = ? RB =48,59 N/mm 2
? RC =? RD= 45,56N/mm2
? RA = ? RB =46,29 N/mm 2
? RC = ? RD = = 45,31N/mm2

Note: The example above simply illustrates the vector method adding direct and torsional shear stresses and compares the difference
in using the unit weld width method and using real weld sizes. The example calculates the stress levels in an existing weld group it is
clear that the weld is oversized for the loading scenario. The difference in the resulting values are in less than 4%. If the welds were
smaller i.e 3mm then the differences would be even smaller.

Table properties of a range of fillet weld groups with welds treated as lines -

Throat Area Location of COG

Weld x I xx-(unit) J-(Unit)
Unit Area y

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Weld Stress Calculations

Table Of Weld Capacities

The fillet weld capacity tables related to the type of loading on the weld. Two types of loading are identified traverse loading and
longitudinal loading as show below

The weld loading should be such that

{ (F L /P L ) 2 + (F T/P T) 2 } ? 1

The following table is in accord with data in BS 5950 part 1. Based on design strengths as shown in table below ... Design Strength

P L = a.p w
P T = a.K.pw

a = weld throat size.

K =1,25 v (1,5 / (1 + Cos 2 ? )

P T based on elements transmitting forces at 90 o i.e ? = 45 o and K = 1,25

Weld Capacity E35 Electrode S275 Steel Weld Capacity E42 Electrode S355 Steel
Longitudinal Transverse Longitudinal Transverse
Leg Throat Capacity Capacity Leg Throat Capacity Capacity
Length Thickness Length Thickness
P L (kN/mm) P T (kN/mm) PL PT

mm mm kN/mm kN/mm mm mm kN/mm kN/mm

3 2,1 0,462 0,577 3 2,1 0,525 0,656

4 2,8 0,616 0,720 4 2,8 0,700 0,875

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5 3,5 0,770 0,963 5 3,5 0,875 1,094

6 4,2 0,924 1,155 6 4,2 1,050 1,312

8 5,6 1,232 1,540 8 5,6 1,400 1,750

10 7,0 1,540 1,925 10 7,0 1,750 2,188

12 8,4 1,848 2,310 12 8,4 2,100 2,625

15 10,5 2,310 2,888 15 10,5 2,625 3,281
18 12,6 2,772 3,465 18 12,6 3,150 3,938

20 14,0 3,08 3,850 20 14,0 3,500 4,375

22 15,4 3,388 4,235 22 15,4 3,850 4,813

25 17,5 3,850 4,813 25 17,5 4,375 5,469

Design Strength p w of fillet welds

Electrode classification
35 43 50
Steel Grade
N/mm 2 N/mm 2 N/mm 2
S275 220 220 220
S355 220 250 250
S460 220 250 280

Useful Related Links

► Pipe Welding
1. Gowelding..A Real Find..this site has lots of Information on calculating the strength of Welds
2. Weld Design Notes .. A set of excellent design notes ► Stress
► Weld On

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Last Updated 17/02/2013

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