A Rational Approach to Standards for Welded Constructions

Weld metal, even if its chemical composition approaches that of the parent metal very closely, is a material inevitably very different in constitution and structure as a result of rapid solidification, reheating and the effects of plastic deformation during cooling which are totally unlike those imposed by rolling. Yet in our specifications we pretend that weld metal can or should have the same properties as the parent metal and that this is important in relation to the safety of the structure. The outward manifestation of this pretence is the weld metal tensile test. A more useless and more meaningless test is difficult to imagine.