Notch Toughness of Internationally Produced Hollow Structural Sections

Since the Northridge and Kobe earthquakes in the 1990s, with their numerous brittle fractures of steel members and welded connections, there is much more awareness of material notch toughness for all applications where dynamic loading is a design condition. As a result, there has been renewed attention directed at assessment of the notch toughness of steel sections, along with tightening of requirements for welding consumables in welded joints. This paper reports on the Charpy V-Notch (CVN) toughness of contemporary hollow structural sections (HSS) manufactured by companies in North America, South America, and Europe. The hollow sections were produced as: hot-formed HSS; cold-formed HSS (electric resistance welded); and cold-formed plus stress-relieved HSS (electric resistance welded). Also, the range of parameters covered in the experimental study included specimen orientation (longitudinal versus transverse), cross-section location (flats, corner, and weld seam), and face exposure (interior face of tube versus exterior face). In total, 557 CVN specimens have been impact tested.