Steel Structures I.

Project

5.
5.1.

Design of gusset plate welded connections

Welded connection: general

Diagonals, struts and chords are connected in nodes using gusset plates and fillet welds.

Design of fillet welds subjected to axial forces acting in the centre of - section 16.2 gravity of the connection is accomplished using the following STAS 10108/0-78 relationship:

N Rs f a lc

- shear stress in the weld

N axial force a weld throat lc design length of the fillet weld Rfs design shear strength of fillet weld (Rfs =0.7R), see Table 10 STAS 10108/0-78 The following limitations apply to throat of fillet welds: The minimum throat of fillet welds shall be according to the following table: - section 19.5 STAS 10108/0-78 - Table 40 STAS 10108/0-78

where:

The maximum throat of fillet welds shall be 0.7tmin, (where tmin is the minimum thickness of the welded element). An exception is the case of edges of angles and channels, where maximum throat thickness can be 0.85t.

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Steel Structures I. Project

The specified throat thickness shall be a multiple of 1 mm. - section 19.5 STAS 10108/0-78

The following limitations apply to the length of fillet welds: The specified length of a fillet weld shall be the design length plus a length equal to the throat thickness at each end.

l = lc + 2 a
In case of angles and channels, the minimum design length of fillet welds is limited to 15 times throat thickness or 40 mm, whichever is larger: - lc 15 a - lc 40mm The maximum design length of fillet welds is limited to 60 times throat thickness: - lc 60 a The specified length welds is recommended to be a multiple of 5 mm

5.2.

Welded connection of diagonals and struts

Use the following procedure to design the welded connection between diagonals or struts and the gusset plates: Determine the total required weld area:

As

N Rs f

where: N axial force in the diagonal or strut Rfs design shear strength fillet welds Choose the throat thickness a1 and a2 of the fillet welds using the limitations imposed on minimum and maximum throat size. It is recommended to use the same throat thickness for both welds in order to simplify fabrication. Centre of gravity of the weld group shall be in the centre of gravity of the angle, in order to avoid additional stresses due to force eccentricity. Denoting the resisting force in weld 1 as N1 and in weld 2 as N2, the following two equations can be written: N=N1+N2 [equilibrium of forces] N1*e=N2*(b-e) [equilibrium of moments about angle centroid] solving the equations provides the following relationships to determine the required design weld lengths: - As1 = As

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A be = 2 a1 l1c l1c = s1 b 2 a1 A e - As 2 = As = 2 a2 l2 c l2 c = s 2 b 2 a2 Determine specified weld lengths ( l = lc + 2 a ), and check the

Steel Structures I. Project limitations on minimum and maximum weld lengths.

5.3.

Welded connection of the bottom chord

Weld between the gusset plate and the bottom chord shall be designed for the change of axial force N = N 2 N1 in the bottom chord. The rest of the axial force is carried by the chord itself and is not transmitted to the gusset plate.

The total required weld area is determined as: As procedure is similar to the one described at 5.2.

N . The rest of the Rs f

5.4.

Welded connection of the top chord

Weld between the gusset plate and the top chord shall be designed for the combined effect of axial compression in the top chord and transversal force due to concentrated load P acting in the joint. The change of axial force in the top chord is N = N 2 N1 . The rest of the axial force is carried by the chord itself and is not transmitted to the gusset plate.

1
The total required weld area can be approximately determined as:

As

N , to account for presence of transversal load P. The R 20 N / mm 2

s f

rest of the procedure is similar to the one described at 5.2. After the As1 and As2 weld areas were determined, welds shall be checked for the combined effect of axial force in the top chord and transversal force P, using the following relationships:

1 =

N P , 2 = As1 + As 2 As1 + As 2

2 res = 12 + 2 Rs f

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