Who Says Welding Doesn’t Affect Strength?

I love seeing failures.  Not that anyone wants things to fail, of course, we always try to make things that last.  However, when a failure pops up, I love to look it over and understand the “how” and the “why”.  It’s an excellent opportunity for learning, and I love to learn. In this case it’s a failure that highlights welding strength and what happens in the periphery.  Let’s see what we can learn.

Welding Changes Strength LocallyThis example is one worth sharing because it’s a real life illustration of the theory we talk about.

This part started life as a mounted trailer drawbar receiver.  This is a typical 2″ receiver to accept a trailer hitch drawbar.  It’s just like the ones on the back of a car, but with a mounting plate.  The plate (once flat) welds to the receiver, then bolts on.

While we don’t know the exact dates, it seems to have functioned perfect for something like 15 years.  Then the duty changed a little.  Now, as you can see in the images, at some point, something went horribly wrong.

Forensic Evaluation

It’s like looking at a crime scene and trying to pull together the facts of what went down.  We see broken and twisted bits of what was once a single flat piece of steel.  We see witness marks of the welding (many years ago), and witness marks from the bolts that held it.  That’s the start.

Looking a little closer we also see that some of the “tearing” or fracturing of the material happened fast, and some happened slow.  How do we know?  In metallurgy a fast break in steel leaves a granular look, often dull in appearance, but clean.  It looks kind of like very fine sand.

Sudden Failure
Metal Torn Suddenly.

On the other hand, a slow break (like fatigue failure) usually has some shiny areas because the inner portions of the crack fret against each other making the surfaces a little more shiny and a little less grainy.  It may also look a little dirty since it takes some time.

Welding Changed Strength, Now Fatigue Break
Fatigue Area by the Edge of a Weld.

I’m not an expert, so I won’t elaborate.  It’s fascinating nonetheless to examine the members and see where the cracks probably started, and to see how they likely progressed.  Super interesting.

For this sample, it appears one crack started near the end of one weld.  Progression was likely past the weld to the outside edge of the plate.  Once the initial full fracture happened, the rest probably went pretty fast — likely continuing fatigue near the welds on the other side too.  With one side mostly broken, a lot more stress on the other side made the break happen faster.  Even with the added stress, the failure appears to start near the edges of the welds.

This mangled metal took some serious force as it tore.  Impressive.

Welding Changes Material Strength

We have discussed welding results in previous articles like this one about welding brackets on a trailer frame and this one about building with aluminum.  It’s one thing to talk about how welding affects strength of the base material, and quite another to see the outcome after stress.

You might look at this failure example and say “yes, but the unwelded areas also broke”.  And, you are right.

You might also look and say “the weld didn’t break”.  Again, you are right.

While these are both good observations, it appears the fracture started in the fringes by the welds.  As we note in the previous articles, the primary area of concern is the material right near the weld.  Not the weld itself.  (Assuming, of course, that the skill of the person welding is sufficient for the task.)

Truly, a weld increases thickness of material locally, so it is actually stronger.  Unfortunately, the area right around the weld also has the extreme heat, but it does not get the benefit of added material for strength.  Also, stress is induced in the material at a “boundary” of where the “hot” and “cool” And, we see that in this failure sample.  It’s not that the material is weak, just that welding as locally changed the strength properties making it more susceptible to fatigue, cracks and breaking.

The Take-Aways

In every experience, it’s good to think about what we can learn.  Here is a sample that felt good, and for 15 years it performed well.  The conditions changed a little and that caused (or at least finished) the failure.  In this case, nothing of consequence was damaged, but we don’t want a failure again.  So, what can we learn?

  1. For high stress elements, think about welds that are in a line and the possibility of propagating cracks along the weld lines.
  2. We like good weld penetration as that makes it strong.  On the other hand, the heat stains here remind us that welding creates a lot of heat and that has effects down the road.  When we have high through heat like this, we need to think about potential welding strength changes.
  3. Stitch welds are intended to spread heat distress so the material strength is not as affected by the welding.  Hard to say here how much that helped, yet judging from the marks, it did help.
  4. 15 years is a long time in service.  It’s a lot of abuse to take. Goes to show that even when it works for a while does not mean it’s invincible.
  5. I think the base plate material was a little too thin for the application overall.  This is a case of being right on the edge of good enough / strong enough.
  6. The small change in service was a little more than the bracket could hold.  It was designed for one application, which it did fine, but the change was too much.  We need to watch how we make changes, then make sure the parts are up for it.
  7. As we plan for other projects, it make a lot of sense to evaluate the importance.  In this case nothing was really hurt, but a failure welding brackets for Trailer Safety Chains, for example, might be catastrophic.  This serves as a good reminder about the importance of what we are welding.

Professionally, just as well as in DIY, we always do the best job possible — as I’m sure you do also.  And yet, there are always things to learn and improve.  Keep your eyes out for opportunities!

Solution – Welding Again For Strength

Welding Revised Plate For StrengthThe example here illustrates the efficacy of a concepts we teach.  Welding does change the material, so moving the welds from the direct stress points is a big way to help.  Another way is to use a buffer (thicker) material directly by the weld, and to support the weld area.  Look again at our recommendations with welding brackets on a trailer frame.  You’ll see the same fundamentals with this solution.

How about a few photos of the revised receiver plate?  Now, the main welds are no longer in line (on the same piece of metal), and the loads are through thicker material.  The receiver welds are now at the ends as well as on the sides.  Most of the welds are now on the thicker members, and they share loads all the way from the receiver to the bolts.  The plate material will still cover as needed, and it combines the loading, but it is not the main weld member any longer.

Stronger Design

In 15 years we’ll see if this works or not, but I personally think it’s a much stronger design.  Could I have just used a thicker piece of material for the plate?  Sure.  That would also work, though it would be heavier.  I have to admit, however, I didn’t have a thicker piece that wide, and he needed the fix right away.  This idea works as a good way to optimize the design for weight a little too.  Having the welds on separate pieces certainly eliminates the possibility of propagating a crack all along and all through as before.

Wrapping It Up

Hopefully there is something here to take away as we highlight an example of strength changes in the material from welding.  Nothing wrong with welding, as long as we stay within the parameters of success with it.

Thank you for joining us for a few minutes to talk about welding strength.  Enjoy your day.

Comments

3 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View All Comments

We Found These For You . . .

Article
What Are Your Essential Tools
We’ve been asked many times about “What are the most essential tools for your shop?” Well, that’s a hard question, because frustration and wailing are the result when the right tools are not available.

Read The Article

Article
Review of the Folding Trailer Tongue
On a recent trailer, I experimented with a new folding tongue design.  Now it’s time to review — What do I like?  What would I do different if building another?

Read The Article

Product
4'x6' Off Road Trailer

Build a great little Off Road Jeep Trailer with these Plans.  The 4 x 6 is a nice adventure size to use with a Jeep or any other 4x4 or OHV.  Customize the Height, Box, and Ground Clearance with options…

Article
Adjustable Hitch Options
Over the past few years the Adjustable Hitch and/or Adjustable Ball Mount have become quite popular.  They are great for adapting to a wide variety of tow vehicle heights and trailer tongue heights.  But, which should you use?  Does it…

Read The Article

Product
Utility 5x10 Trailer Plans - 3500 lbs

As an awesome DIY project, get these 5x10 Utility Trailer Plans that include lots of options, then build a trailer unique, and perfect for you.  It has a 3500 Lb single axle to handle the chores.

Article
Walking Beam Trailer Suspension With Twin Torsion Axles
Plans are now available for the Twin Torsion Axle Walking Beam Trailer Suspension.  This was introduced on a build early in 2018, with posts about the trailer including a video of the suspension in action.

Read The Article

Article
Ouch, Cracked Frame
This is a Customer Story about a crack in a trailer frame.  Finding these can be really scary, but finding them at this stage is a whole lot better than finding them after a catastrophic failure.

Read The Article

Product
Tilt Top Trailer Conversion

Convert our standard Utility Trailer Plans into a Tilt Top Trailer with these Conversion Plans.  It fits our smaller, 3500 lbs, utility trailers in 4' width and 5' width — for both leaf springs and torsion axles.

Article
Do I Need A Trailer Spare Tire?
What about that trailer spare tire?  No, I don’t mean the one around my middle . . . for your trailer.  Do you really need one?  Some say yes, and we see them on many trailers, but they are rarely…

Read The Article

Article
Aligning Misaligned Holes
Despite your best efforts, sometimes the holes you drill for a project will not quite align with those in the mating parts.  It is maddening, and often you feel dumb because it is messed up, but there are ways to…

Read The Article