Recent content by cookyb

Ha ha! All true. They started with FCAW and the welds were visibly cracked. So, they took a couple of coupons, welded them up using the same process (but they preheated this time) and the welds failed the bend test. So, now I've had them grind the existing weld surface clean and weld the...

Gotcha. What about the speed of the welding? The GC now wants 5x more $$ for the welding portion of this work. This seems high to me, but I'm not a welder.

Weldstan/DeleteriousPhases, Are you saying flux cored welding shouldn't be used for this type of welding, or you wouldn't use it knowing what we know now after all of the testing we did? The GC is going to ask for more time/money because he said he bid the job for wire feed welding. I don't...

I'll pass this along. They are going to try a test weld tomorrow and MP test it. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks!

Flux core. I'm not sure about the AWS classification.

So far, other than the 3 test samples I sent, only the wire feed welds have cracked. The stick welds (mostly puddle welds of deck and welding angles to the existing girders) have been fine based on a visual inspection. I was at the site yesterday and we decided to try out welding the tubes via...

Thanks, mrfailure, but I don't think it's A7. The chemical analysis doesn't match up. A7 looks like it has 10 times the amount of carbon and 200 times the chromium of my sample. This building was built in 1993, so there won't be a possibility of any heat treating. No existing cracks in the...

racookpe, yes. The bridge was disassembled and then the pieces used as-is. It's really an odd way to put a building together. Columns are not continuous, they stack on top of the girders. Most of the girders are 3 beams side by side and stitch welded together...weird. And yes, there is tons...

The most critical welds I'm dealing with are 3/8" flare bevel welds to attach a 25' long HSS5x5 to the bottom of the bottom flange of the beams in several locations. The CWI has said that the stick welds of misc steel to these beams have looked acceptable, but these are all VI. They tried a...

I had assumed it was A36 during design and was pretty surprised when the test firm said it wasn't. Sounds like it still may be, but just on the crummy side, huh? Nice that we have slightly better than "fence post" steel holding this thing up. :) As far as a plan of attack for getting a good...

Thanks for your help, guys. Redpicker, would Vanadium, Titanium etc normally be tested for in a chemical analysis or do you have to specifically test for each one? Jwhit, I thought preheating the weld was in part to drive off any residual gases. Is this not the case? Also, I'm not familiar...

I've got a building built in 1993 that was built using (reportedly) recycled bridge steel (don't know when the bridge was built). We are doing a remodel and are having some trouble welding to the existing wide-flange beams (cracks have been visibly detected at all of the welds so far). I had...

Thanks for your help, guys. My foundation will have a few jogs in it so it sounds like Mat3D is out. I like being able to have reinforcing zones as well. I know that Staad Foundation is a stand alone module, what about CYPECAD? Thanks again.

I have a 2-story building with basement on soft soils up to 50 ft deep and need to design a mat slab to support it. Can anyone recommend some software to assist with this? Thanks!

Good to know. Thanks blarge. I also upgraded some of the equipment in the tank with newer more efficient (much less wattage)stuff and it has made a big difference. With the ambient air temp being at 79F the tank has been hovering right around 81.5F for the last couple of days. Before the...