Terms of reference

Commission X aims to establish a practical procedure for assessing the strength and integrity of welded structures in design as well as in service with known or assumed flaws, where attention is paid to the role and influence of welding residual stresses, strength mismatch between base and weld metals, and heterogeneity in toughness of welds. Recent activity has focused on the development of a practical guideline for Fitness-for-Service (FFS) assessment for welded components containing a flaw and damage, which includes stress/strain-based assessment, constraint analysis and toughness testing procedure for welds. With further development of FFS for welds, Commission X faces the challenge of advanced design of transport vehicles and infrastructures such as energy plants, pipelines, bridges and buildings constructed with high performance steels and high welding technologies.