WELD SHEAR TEST FIXTURE
(ASTM A 497 & A 185)

low carbon steel or 17-4PH stainless

This test fixture is used to determine the shear strength of the welds in welded wire fabric such as used for concrete reinforcement.  The two governing ASTM standards, ASTM A 497 (Reference 1) and ASTM A 185 (Reference 2) are very similar, and use the same test fixture.

Weld Shear Test Fixture

A weld junction is cut from the wire fabric, with the transverse wire extending approximately 1” on each side of the longitudinal wire.  The longitudinal wire extends 2” or more above the junction, and about 5” below.  The length below must be sufficient to permit gripping it with standard tensile grips.

The fixture is adjustable to accommodate wires over a range of diameters, the vee-grooved rollers restraining the longitudinal wire to keep the transverse wire on top of the support platform.  The top of the test fixture contains a threaded hole for attachment to the crosshead of the tensile testing machine.  The bottom of the longitudinal wire is pulled until the weld fails, this failure load being reported.

Sources of Additional Information:

1)     1)  ASTM Standard A 497-01 (2001), “Standard Specification for Steel Welded Wire Fabric, Deformed, for Concrete Reinforcement,” American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (first published in 1964).

2)     2)  ASTM Standard A 185-02 (2002), “Standard Specification for Steel Welded Wire Fabric, Plain, for Concrete Reinforcement,” American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (first published in 1936).