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Date of Graduation

5-2027

Description

Welding plays a critical role in many civil engineering applications as it is a common method used to connect structural steel components. Because of how widespread the practice is, the American Welding Society (AWS) has developed a set of standardized welding guidelines to ensure consistent quality in structural welds. These standards allow common weld types to be fabricated using pre-approved procedures (e.g. welding materials, temperatures, and positions). Recently, high-strength structural steels have begun to be available domestically. Current AWS standards do not allow for high strength steels (yield strength greater than 80ksi) and need to be evaluated for the inclusion of high strength steel welds. This gap in weld standards for high strength steel places a burden on fabricators and inspectors. Currently, they need to develop case-by-case procedures for high strength structural steel welds and validate them through in-house performance evaluation.This research seeks to address the gap in standardization by examining how steel plate assemblies respond to a tensile load at various angles. Welded plates with yield strengths of 50ksi, 80ksi, and 100ksi will be evaluated. These plates are attached at several angles, in line with field applications (15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 degrees). By examining how the weld plate connections respond to tensile loads at various angles and steel strengths, the research aims to find trends in performance and understand how high strength steel connections behave.Initially, this work is being conducted using 3D finite element analysis. This analysis allows for numerous iterations of models with various weld configurations. Model parameters of interest include weld geometry and steel stress-strain behavior. Based on this modeling, physical testing specimens will be fabricated and used to validate the computational modeling. Recommendations to AWS are expected to include the required weld size for each angle of interest for high-strength steels.

Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Book

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Civil Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Broberg, Morgan

Disciplines

Civil and Environmental Engineering | Engineering

Keywords

Engineering

Evaluating High-Strength Steel Welded Connections for Future AWS Welding Standards

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