HSS

Hollow
Structural
Sections
HSS:
TECHNICAL PAPER
by Jefrey A. Packer, Bahen/
Tanenbaum Professor of Civil
Engineering, University of
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
&
Matthew R. McFadden,
Research Assistant,
Department of Civil
Engineering, University of
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2013 Steel Tube Institute
2516 Waukegan Road, Suite 172
Glenview, IL 60025
TEL: 847.461.1701
FAX: 847.660.7981
WELDING OF HOLLOW
STRUCTURAL SECTIONS
1

WeldingofHollowStructuralSections

byJeffreyA.Packer
1
andMatthewR.McFadden
2

1
Bahen/TanenbaumProfessorofCivilEngineering,UniversityofToronto,Ontario,Canada
2
ResearchAssistant,DepartmentofCivilEngineering,UniversityofToronto,Ontario,Canada
______________________________________________________________________________

TheweldingofHollowStructuralSections(HSS)doeshavesomeuniquefeatures.Unlikeopensections,
whereweldingistypicallypossiblefrombothsidesofanelement,weldingofHSSisonlypossiblefrom
one side, thus requiring larger weld sizes. Second, the main HSS member face to which a branch is
welded is generally much more flexible than its wideflange counterpart, as the two webs of the main
member (which act as stiffeners) are at the outside of the connection rather than in the middle, as
wouldbethecasewithaWshapeweb.Thisincreasedflexibilityoftheconnectingfacetendstocause
anunevenloaddistributionintheweldedjoint.

An important first step is to have selected the members in an HSS connection astutely. For trusstype
connections,thebranchwidthtochordwidthratio()shouldberelativelyhigh(say0.7to0.8),butstill
preferably enable the branch to sit on the flat of the main member if it is a square/rectangular HSS.
(AnexceptiontothisrecommendationareconnectionsinVierendeelframes,wherematchedwidthHSS
[ 1.0] are typically necessary in order to achieve full moment capacity). In addition, the branch
thicknesstochordthicknessratio()shouldberelativelylow;lessthanunity,withavalueof0.5beinga
good target. These conditions will generate a trusstype connection with a high static strength (and a
high fatigue resistance too). As member selection is intimately tied to connection capacity, and most
HSSconnectionsarerequiredtobeunreinforced,itisclearthatcheckingtheconnectioncapacityisthe
responsibilityofthestructuralengineer.

Threebasictypesofweldsaccountforpracticallyallstructuralweldjoints,includingthosebetweenHSS:
completejointpenetration (CJP) groove welds, partialjointpenetration (PJP) groove welds, and fillet
welds.

CompleteJointPenetration groove welds (from one side and without backing) are extremely
expensive, require specially qualified welders, and should almost never be specified for HSS
connections.OneexceptionthatcomestomindisforaroundHSSweldedtoaproprietarysteelspecial
purposecastingtheHighStrengthConnectorbyCastConnexCorp.,usedwithdiagonalHSSbracesin
seismic loadresisting braced frames (shown in Fig. 1). In this case the tapered nose of the casting
insertedintotheHSSorpipeessentiallyservesasbacking.

CJ P
HSS wall
60
Cast ConneX
High-Strength
Connector
1/8
2

(a) (b)

Figure1:Illustrated(a)andmacroetched(b)CJPjointbetweenroundHSSandCastConneXHighStrengthConnector

PartialJointPenetration groove welds are an option for HSS connections, especially if fillet weld sizes
becomelarge(legsizesoveraboutin.)andthebranchmemberisreasonablythick.Prequalifiedjoint
details for PJP welds to HSS, particularly for the longitudinal welds in matched box connections as in
Fig.2,aregiveninAWSD1.1(2010).

Figure2:MacroetchedPJPgrooveweldinamatchedwidth(=1.0)HSSconnection

Filletwelds,beingtheleastexpensiveandeasiestweldtype,arethepreferredandmostcommonweld
typeforHSSconnections.ThedesignoffilletweldsinstructuralsteelbuildingsintheUSisgovernedby
AISC36010TableJ2.5andisbasedonthelimitstateofshearfailureofthe weldusinga matching (or
undermatching)fillermetal.Forasimple90
o
TjointtheLRFDresistanceofasingleweldisgivenby:

R
n
=F
nw
A
we
=(0.75)(0.60F
EXX
)(D/2)(weldlength),whereD=weldlegsize.

ThedesignoffilletweldsinCanadaisgovernedbyCSAS1609Clause13.13.2.2,andalthoughdifferent
coefficients are used, an identical resistance is obtained. Both AISC and CSA allow an enhancement to
thenominalstrengthoftheweldmetal(of1.0+0.50sin
1.5
)forweldsloadedatanangleofdegrees
to the weld longitudinal axis, plus include some further provisions for weld groups. AISC 36010,
however,limitsthesinenhancementfactortoonlyweldgroupswhereallelementsareinalineorare
parallel(alsoreferredtoaslinearweldgroups).Thus,theapparentinapplicabilityofthisfactortoHSS
T, Y and Kconnections is pointed out in AISC Design Guide No. 24 (Packer et al., 2010). The CSA
standard, on the other hand, does not rule out the applicability of the sin factor for HSS connections,
leadingtoamuchgreaterresistanceforafilletweldgroupinaHSSconnectionandhencemuchsmaller
weld sizes (see Table 1). The prior edition, CAN/CSA S1601, included a check for shearing of the base
metalattheedgeofafilletweldalongthefusionface(seeFig.3),whichfrequentlygovernedandthus
resultedingenerallylargerweldsizesatthattime.

(a) (b)

Figure3:90
o
HSSTconnectionunderbranchaxialtension(a)anddetailofthefilletweldshowingassumedfailureplanes(b)

Weld Design for HSStoHSS connections can be performed to either of the following two design
philosophies(Packeretal.,2010;PackerandSun,2011):
1.Theweldmaybeproportionedsothatitdevelopstheyieldstrengthoftheconnectedbranchwallat
alllocationsaroundthebranch,or
2.Theweldmaybeproportionedtoresisttheappliedbranchforces,withadjustmentsforunevenstress
distributionsalongthelengthoftheweld.

ExaminingMethodNo.1,thiswillrepresentanupperlimitontheweldsizeandhenceaconservative
design procedure. For example, consider the simple 90
o
HSStoHSS Tconnection under branch axial
tension load in Fig. 3, with sections manufactured to ASTM A500 Grade C and fillet welded with E70
electrodes.Inthiscaseallweldsareorientedtransversely(at90
0
)

totheappliedload,formanonlinear
weldgroup,andonecanconsiderthattheHSSbranchwallyieldresistance,perunitlength,isgivenby:

(=0.9)F
y
t
b
=45t
b
kips/in,wheret
b
isthebranchwallthickness.

It is interesting to consider the fillet weld effective throat size that is required to develop this branch
wallresistance,accordingtovariousspecifications/codes(seeTable1).Clearlythereisquiteadisparity.

Table1:Comparisonoffilletweldeffectivethroatstodeveloptheyieldresistanceoftheconnectedbranchmemberwall

SpecificationorCode WeldEffectiveThroat
ANSI/AISC36010TableJ2.5 1.43t
b
AWSD1.1/D1.1M:2010Clause2.25.1.3andFig.3.2 1.07t
b
CSAS1609Clause13.13.2.2 0.95t
b

CAN/CSAS1601Clause13.13.2.2 1.14t
b

CEN(2005)orIIW(2009) 1.10t
b

Method No.2, essentially a fit for purpose approach, involves taking weld effective lengths into
account because HSS welded joints typically have highly varying load distributions around their
perimeter. For joints with relatively low branch forces, the use of weld effective lengths may lead to
smallerweldsizesandresultinamoreeconomicalwelddesign.Thesameeffectiveweldsizeshouldstill
4

bemaintainedallaroundtheattachedbranch,withtheentirebranchperimeterwelded.(Anexception
to the latter may apply to the hidden weld in HSStoHSS overlapped connections). Some HSS weld
effective lengths were introduced into AWS D1.1 in the 1990s, based on prior experimental research,
thenAISC360adoptedthesein2005andfurtherexpandedthecoverageinSectionK4ofAISC36010.
IIW(2009)specificallyacknowledgestheeffectivelengthconceptforwelddesignbut,likeallothersteel
designspecifications/codesexceptAISC360andAWSD1.1,doesnotprescribeanyeffectivelengths.

TovalidateorfurtherimprovetheHSSweldeffectiverulesaddedtoSectionK4ofAISC36010,anAISC
sponsored experimental research project is currently being performed by the authors on weldcritical
HSStoHSS Tconnections, under branch inplane bending, and on weldcritical HSStoHSS overlapped
Kconnectionswithincompletetrusses.TheheightenedinterestinweldingofHSSisalsoreflectedinthe
recent formation of an AWS Tubular Task Group, at the instigation of AASHTO, primarily to address
tubularbridgeconstruction.

References

AISC.2010.SpecificationforStructuralSteelBuildings,ANSI/AISC36010,AmericanInstituteofSteel
Construction,Chicago,IL.

AWS.2010.StructuralWeldingCodeSteel,AWSD1.1/D1.1M:2010,22
nd.
edition,AmericanWelding
Society,Miami,FL.

CEN. 2005. Eurocode 3: Design of Steel Structures Part18: Design of Joints, EN199318:2005(E),
EuropeanCommitteeforStandardization,Brussels,Belgium.

CSA.2001.LimitStatesDesignofSteelStructures,CAN/CSAS1601,CanadianStandardsAssociation,
Toronto,ON.

CSA.2009.DesignofSteelStructures,CSAS1609,CanadianStandardsAssociation,Toronto,ON.

IIW.2009.StaticDesignProcedureforWeldedHollowSectionJointsRecommendations,3
rd
.edition,
IIWDoc.XV132909,InternationalInstituteofWelding,Paris,France.

Packer,J.,Sherman,D.andLecce,M.2010.HollowStructuralSectionConnections,SteelDesignGuide
No.24,AmericanInstituteofSteelConstruction,Chicago,IL.

Packer, J.A. and Sun, M. 2011. Fillet Weld Design for Rectangular HSS Connections, Engineering
Journal,AmericanInstituteofSteelConstruction,1
st
.quarter,pp.3148.

March/April2012