Residual stress tests of welded Q690 high-strength steel box- and H-sections

• Residual stresses in welded Q690 steel box- and H-sections were measured.
• Residual stresses between Q690 and Q460 steels were compared.
• Simplified residual stress distributions for box- and H-sections were proposed.

Many studies on the experiment and simulation of residual stresses in mild carbon steel sections have been conducted. However, few investigations focus on Q690 high-strength steel sections. Because of the differences between high-strength steel and mild carbon steel in terms of stress–strain relationships and thermal properties of materials, it is necessary to investigate the residual stress in high-strength steel welded sections. In this study, three box- and H-sections fabricated from Q690 steel plates were employed for the measurement of residual stresses. The thickness of the sections with various dimensions was 16 mm. This paper presents the magnitude and distribution of residual stresses in box- and H-sections made of Q690 steels. The simplified residual stress distribution models over box- and H-sections welded with Q690 steels are proposed. It is found that Q690 high-strength steel specimens possess lower ratios of residual compressive stress compared with that of Q460 steel specimens.