punctured hss column

huangyhg

punctured hss column
file this under things you dont see every day-
a guy driving a forklift rammed a fork through an existing hss 8x8.  in one side, out the other.  i asked the contractor "what was that guy doing?"  he replied "finishing up his last day at xyz construction."
anyway, my fix is welding plates over the puncture holes.  my concern is that these holes are very clean with well defined corners.  should i be concerned about stress concentrations at the corners of the puncture?  if a crack does propagate from the corners, will it stop at the welds of the new cover plates?

pylko,
what is the function of the hss?   is it a column?
was the hss anchored to the floor?   if so, take a good look to the anchor bolts and the surrounding concrete.
with respect to the concentration of stresses at the holes,
i think that unless the hss has high tensile stresses or is subject to reversal of stresses, the proposed welded scab plates will be adequate to reinforce the hss and concentration of stresses would not be an issue.
regards
aef
yes, the hss is a column.  the anchor bolts all appear in good condition considering.  
i would also check if the column is no longer straight.
  if it was hit high enough with enough force, the column may now be bent between supports giving you less overall column buckling strength. i have checked this before by placing a level against the column at varying heights, and by dropping a plumb line.