ABSTRACT
Welded plate girders are widely used as elements of moment resisting frames, especially in low-rise industrial buildings. The main reasons for this development are:
The use of automatic welding procedures that allows for a fully automatic production comparable to the production of hot-rolled profiles, the possibility to produce variable cross sections along the beam length as to fit best to the stress conditions, saving thus steel and the possibility of the steel fabricators to enlarge their turnover by transferring work from the steel producers to themselves.
