AS/NZS 1554.4:2010 PDF Download

AS/NZS 1554.4:2010 is a standard that specifies the requirements for welding high strength quenched and tempered steels used in steel structures. The standard covers various welding processes, including manual metal-arc welding, submerged arc welding, gas metal-arc welding, gas tungsten-arc welding, flux-cored arc welding, electroslag welding, and electrogas welding. However, it notes that these processes may not be suitable for all cases and refers to a Technical Note for further information.

The standard is limited to the welding of quenched and tempered steel parent material and applies to steelwork in structures that comply with appropriate standards. It distinguishes between welded joints that are subject to fatigue conditions and those that are not. For joints subject to fatigue conditions, the standard specifies different stress ranges and permissible stress limits based on categories defined in other application standards.

In addition to structures, the standard also applies to the welding of bridges, cranes, hoists, earthmoving equipment, and other dynamically loaded structures. It provides information on complementary codes that facilitate the design and fabrication of high strength quenched and tempered steels. The standard emphasizes the need for qualified weld preparations, welding consumables, and welding procedures before welding begins, and provides prequalified options as well.

To cater to both statically loaded structures and those subject to fatigue conditions, the standard introduces three categories of welds with different levels of quality assurance. The intention is for designers to select the appropriate category based on the severity of service and specify it on the drawings. This ensures that the relevant parts of the structure receive appropriate levels of supervision and inspection.