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Analysis of Moment-Resisting Welds After the Northridge Earthquake

A hospital building in Los Angeles was welded using a high deposition rate flux-cored electrode. The Northridge earthquake occurred during the final months of erection of the structural steel frame. Following the earthquake, some of the welds at the moment resisting welds exhibited cracks. A dispute ensued which centered around the confidence in the existing, uncracked welds. APTECH was contracted by the erector to address the inspection, welding workmanship, design, fracture and failure issues. APTECH proposed a fitness-for-service analysis as a cost effective approach in regaining the confidence in these welds which had existed prior to the earthquake.

Satish Almaula		Plant failure and root cause analysis; process and design engineering analysis; process technology development and testing; plant engineering, operations, maintenance and safety management; plant and process control system management.

Michael Cronin, P.E.		Metallurgy, weld design and weld inspection.

Steve Paterson		Metallurgy, welding, boiler pressure part and machinery failure analysis.

Geoffrey Egan, Ph.D.		Engineering mechanics, welding engineering, stress and fatigue analysis, risk analysis, NDE.

Jeffrey Grover, P.E.		Mechanical engineering, failure analysis, civil engineering.