ANSI/AWS B4.0 Tensile Testing of Welds

ANSI/AWS B4.0 is an American national standard for the mechanical testing of welds. Welds are integral to the construction of metal structures, and it is critical that their properties be thoroughly tested to ensure structural integrity. ANSI/AWS B4.0 covers a wide variety of common tests including tension tests, shear tests, bend tests, fracture toughness tests, hardness tests, and others. This standard extensively references ASTM test methods such as ASTM E8 and specifies how to use these test methods when assessing weldments.

Due to the wide variety of tests performed to ANSI/AWS B4.0, many different test setups can be required. The high forces involved and the number of different test types required make Instron's dual space test frames (DX and HDX) ideal for testing to this standard, because they allow users to test to two ANSI/AWS B4.0 applications without having to swap out fixtures. For the Charpy impact applications we recommend Instron's MPX system, which is capable of testing specimens from 1 - 720 joules while still meeting ASTM and NIST requirements. Instron makes many standard and custom fixtures for tensile, compression, shear, and impact testing that can be used for the various tests required by this standard. Depending on the testing being performed, these systems are available with Bluehill Universal or Bluehill Impact software.