CE-411 Steel Structures

Fall 2018

Tension Members

Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Adeel Zafar

Head of Department-Structures
Civil Engineering Wing
Military College of Engineering, Risalpur
Email: adeel.zafar@mce.nust.edu.pk
 TENSION MEMBERS

• Typical Tension Members

• Introductory Concepts
• Design for Tensile Strength
• Net Area and Effective Area
• Staggered Connections
• Block Shear
• Design of Tension Members
• Examples
 EFFECTIVE AREA
• Bearing pressure due to bolts acting over smaller
areas and transferring forces only near the weld
produce stress concentrations at some points
within the member cross-section
Boundary of force transfer
into the plate from each bolt.

Pn

As the force is transferred from each bolt it spreads

through the tension member. This is sometimes called
the “flow of forces”
 EFFECTIVE AREA

Rupture Plane
Now consider a
much wider plate.
Pn

At rupture plane (right bolts) forces have not engaged the entire
plate.
 EFFECTIVE AREA

Portion of member Rupture Plane

carrying no tension.

Pn
Effective length of
rupture plane

At the rupture plane (right bolts) forces have not engaged the
entire plate.

The entire area is not effective!

EFFECTIVE AREA

This concept
describes the
Whitmore Section.
30o
Pn
lw= width of
Whitmore Section
30o
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• SHEAR LAG accounts for distance required for
stresses to distribute from connectors into the
full cross section
• Largest influence when:
o Only a portion of the cross section is
connected
o Connection does not have sufficient length
• Further, eccentricity in connection may produce
extra stresses due to unwanted moments
• Similarly, at a connection, if one part of the section
is connected while the other is left free, all the
forces have to pass only through the connected
part at the joint
 EFFECTIVE AREA
SHEAR LAG Within Member, shear stresses are
transmitting axial force between connecting
elements, thus term “Shear Lag”

Pn

l= Length of Connection
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SHEAR LAG

Pn

Rupture
Plane

l= Length of Connection
 EFFECTIVE AREA
SHEAR LAG

Pn
Distribution of
Forces Through
Section

Rupture
Plane

l= Length of Connection
 EFFECTIVE AREA
SHEAR LAG

Section Carrying
Tension Forces Pn
Distribution of
Forces Through
Section

Rupture
Plane

l= Length of Connection
 EFFECTIVE AREA
SHEAR LAG Shear lag occurs when the force is
transmitted to the section through part
of the section, not whole

Pn
Area not
Effective in
Tension Due to
Shear Lag

Shear lag less

influential when l is
long, or if outstanding
Effective Net leg has minimal area
Area in Tension
or eccentricity
 EFFECTIVE AREA
• Away from the joint, these stresses spread to
give a uniform stress distribution. Further,
eccentricity in connection may produce extra
stresses due to unwanted moments
• Efficiency of a joint is defined as how well
the stresses are distributed to transfer the
applied forces.
• If the joint is not fully efficient, premature failure
can occur reducing the member strength.
• This expected reduction is usually applied on the
area of cross-section to get effective net area
used to calculate the reduced member strength.
 EFFECTIVE AREA
• Shear lag factor (U) is the factor by which net area
of a section is reduced for shear lag, stress
concentrations and eccentricity at the joints.
For Bolted Connections
Ae = U An Ae = Effective Net Area
An = Net Area
For Welded Connections
Ae ≠ An Due to Shear Lag
Ae = U Ag

• The approximate values of this factor for various

joining conditions are given below.

a. When tension load is transmitted through

each of the cross-sectional elements by
fasteners or welds, U = 1.0.
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Rules for Determining Shear Lag Factor (U)
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1. General Category
The preferable expression for U for all
tension members, except plates and HSS,
where load is not transferred by all
elements of the section, is as follows:
x
U  1   0.9 (LRFD - B3.2)
l

x = Distance from centroid of element being connected

eccentrically to plane of load transfer, called
connection eccentricity.
l = Length of connection,
• Center to center of extreme bolts
• Weld Length parallel to direction of force
 EFFECTIVE AREA
1. General Category
Determination of x
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COMMENTARY to
SPECIFICATION

Determination of x for U.
(See Commentary C – B 3.1 & C – B 3.2)
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Length of Connection
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COMMENTARY to SPECIFICATION
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2. Plates
i) Transverse Weld Connection:- Gusset
plate
Ae = UA
6”
U = 1.0 T
A = Area of connected part only
Angle
e.g. A = 6 x 1/2 = 3 in2 6x4x1/2 Weld

ii) Longitudinal Weld Connection :-

Gusset
Ae = Ag U plate

U = 1.0 for l 2w T w

U = 0.87 for 2w  l  1.5 w
U = 0.75 for 1.5w  l  w Angle
l
6x4x1/2
 EFFECTIVE AREA
3. Round HSS
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4. Single Angles
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5. W, M, S, HP or Tee Cut
a) W, M or S Shapes with flange width ≥ 2/3 depth, and structural tees cut
from these shapes, provided connection to the flanges and has ≥ 3
fasteners per line in the direction of force, U = 0.90.
b) W,M or S Shapes where flanges width < 2/3 depth, and all other shapes,
that has no fewer than 3 fasteners per line, U = 0.85

c) All members having only two fasteners in the line of stress U = 0.75

 For short tension members such as Gusset plates the effective net
area equals (An), but must not exceed 0.85 of the gross area (Ag).
 EFFECTIVE AREA

SPECIFICATION – CHAPTER D
 EFFECTIVE AREA
SUMMARY

Ae = Effective Net Area

Modify net area (An) to account for shear lag.

Ae = AnU Equation D3-1

U = shear lag factor reduction

x
U  1 x = eccentricity of connection
l
Or value per
Table D3.1 l = length where force transfer occurs
(distance parallel to applied tension
force along bolts or weld)
 EFFECTIVE AREA
Example (3.4-Segui):
• Determine Effective net area for given tension
member
 EFFECTIVE AREA
Example (3.4-Segui):
• From AISC Manual, the x for L6x6x1/2 is 1.67 in.

• Length of connection is
 EFFECTIVE AREA
Example (3.4-Segui):

Equation 3.1 (Segui)