Influence of Surface Treatment Conditions on Welded Joint Characteristics of Aged Steel

Abstract

The influence of surface treatment conditions on the welded joint characteristics of aged steel was investigated for verifying the applicability of weld repair to existing steel bridge members. Steel materials with deteriorated paint coatings extracted from an aged bridge that had been in service for a long term were prepared. The weld defects were not observed in the welded joints fabricated by these steels with different surface conditions. Although the tensile strength of welded joints was not affected by the surface treatment conditions, one specimen fractured at the middle in the thickness direction due to non-metallic inclusions. It could be confirmed that sound welded joints could be fabricated by the surface polishing with a disc grinder, which was possible on site, through the experiments by four different aged steels.