WELDED STEEL

Evening Star, Issue 23013, 19 July 1938, Page 3

WELDED STEEL

NOT YET SUITABLE FOR BUILDING The publication of the report of the welding panel of the Steel Structures Research Committee, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Great Britain, marks the conclusion of an investigation which has been in progress for more than seven years. The findings of the welding panel may be summarised as showing that simple welded connections carried out to the same specification under carefully controlled conditions give results which show considerable variations in strength, and that a practicable and consistent non-destructive test of the quality of a weld is not yet available for use in connection with steel building construction.

These two conclusions are complementary- to the extent that if more consistent results hat] been obtained from test pieces fabricated under carefully controlled conditions the necessity for an applicable method of nondestructive testing would be less urgent, while if a satisfactory test had been discovered it would not be so necessary to try to obtain consistent results by careful supervision.

If in either case, by the exercise of strict control or by the application of a non-destructive test, it had been found possible to report more favourably, the advantages of welding over other methods of construction would have been conspicuous indeed, but the economy, efficiency, and flexibility of this form of construction, together with the advantages of comparative silence of welded field work as compared with riveted construction, are still unfortunately offset by the greater uncertainty of the actual strength available in a welded joint.