Rotation capacity of fillet weld joints made of high-strength steel

The capacity of the welded joint can be defined in terms of load-carrying and deformation capacities. For ultra-high-strength structural steels, such as S960 QC, the deformation capacity is a crucial structural property. In this paper, the rotation capacity of fillet weld joints was investigated experimentally and analytically. The rotation capacity of the fillet weld joints under pure bending load is calculated analytically by a model using the elastic peak stress and plastic limit state. The experimental test proved that the plastic load-carrying capacities required by the standards were reached. Additionally, the tests showed that sufficient deformation capacities can be obtained, although fully plastic rotation hinges could not always be reached. The experimental results were in good agreement with the analytically calculated capacities. However, there is a need for some design limitations before more results are available.