Steel Beam With Crack
Steel Beam With Crack
(OP)
A new W36x330 bridge beam arrived from the fabricator with a longitudinal crack in the web at the neutral axis. The crack is about 4ft long starting from one end of the beam. Visually, the width of the crack at the surface is maybe 1/16", the depth of the crack is small, about 1/32". Thought grinding the crack, welding, then grinding flush as possible repair solution. Any other suggestions?






RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
www.SlideRuleEra.net
www.VacuumTubeEra.net
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
With a VERY poor layout where the beam would possibly flex about its web with other beams stacked on top.
I'm not sure if there would be enough cycles to cause that but I suppose it depends on the degree of stress that it was under.
How does the repaired crack relate to the final bridge in-place stress exposures? The weld would kick you up to a higher stress condition and possibly alter the final bridge design from a fatigue aspect.
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
By the way, thanks to everyone for their input.
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
If yes, it is not a mill or fabricator problem.
Is it acceptable cosmetically?
If yes, just accept it.
If not, consider what you want done.
If not an acceptable blemish, tell the fabricator and ask what he proposes to do about it, subject to the engineer's acceptance.
Think about NDT, say UT or RT to check the depth and/or the fix if it is in doubt.
Michael.
"Science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved." ~ Tim Minchin
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
Did some looking today; according to this link it may be "scabs", it can occur on a small scale and look like the photos Jackcsh posted. See pages 7 and 8.
http://www.cielffa.org/download/ZeroDefectStrategy...
I would suggest getting the fabricator to investigate, this is his problem.
www.SlideRuleEra.net
www.VacuumTubeEra.net
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
it may even be possible just blend it out by grinding?
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
That’s obviously not a tool mark, now that we see some photos of it. I’ll bet that area was shocked (quenched) in some way during cooling, right after rolling. Hit with much more water, right on that surface and in that area, than the rest of the member, at the end of the rolling process. It certainly is the fabricator’s problem, and probably the mill’s problem. I’d want to see them check the chemistry and hardness in that region of the beam and again some distance removed from that area. I don’t think the vert. dark line right near the web surface (on the right) indicates a lamination, although that would certainly arrest the crack depth at the lamination. I can’t see that from here.
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack
RE: Steel Beam With Crack