WELDED CONNECTIONS

Axial and Transverse Loading

Again, as the overall theme of this book is to uncover the mystery of the formulas used in machine
design for the practicing engineer, it will be assumed that the details of the nomenclature of welds
and the standards of the American Welding Society (AWS) are unnecessary. Therefore the
discussion will proceed directly to the first important topic for the designer, welded joints in axial
and transverse loading.

1. BUTT WELD

 ( P) is a tensile force
 (V ) is a shear force
 (H ) is the throat depth of the weld
 (L) is the length, or width, of the weld.

The butt weld fills the V-groove created by the slanted cuts made into the two parts before
welding and extends in an arch on both sides of the parts called the reinforcement. Note that
the throat depth (H ) does not include any of the reinforcements. There are stress
concentrations at the four transition lines between the reinforcement and the parts, and
therefore, if the joint is subject to dynamic loading, the reinforcement should be ground
smooth to avoid a fatigue failure.
The normal stress (σbutt) produced by the tensile force ( P) in the butt weld is:
P P
σ butt = =
A butt HL

And the shear stress (Tbutt) produced by the shear force (V ) is given the following:

V V
τ butt = =
A butt HL
 2. Fillet welds for a lap joint.
Fillet Welds. For fillet welds, the two parts to be joined together are placed such that right-
angle corners are created as shown where (t) is the weld size and (H ) is the weld throat. Not
shown is the weld length (L), which is a dimension perpendicular to the page.

The tensile force (P) is balanced by a shear stress (Tfillet) acting over the effective areas of
both fillet welds, where each
effective area is given by:

A fillet =HL=( t .cos 450 ) . L=0.707 . t . L

P P P P
τ fillet = = = =
2. A fillet 2. H . L 2. ( 0.707 t ) . ( L ) ( 1.414 t ) . ( L )

If there had been only one weld, then the shear stress (Tfillet) would be twice the value.

3. Fillet welds in a transverse joint.

Consider the fillet welds where the transverse load ( P) is balanced by a shear stress (Tfillet)
over the two weld strips of length (L) having a weld size (t ).

As was the case with the lap joint, the

tensile force (P) is balanced by a shear stress (Tfillet) acting over the effective areas of both
fillet welds, where each effective area is again given. Therefore, using the effective area of
one weld given .the shear stress (Tfillet) for the transverse joint is also given by:

P P P P
τ fillet = = = =
2. A fillet 2. H . L 2. ( 0.707 t ) . ( L ) ( 1.414 t ) . ( L )

Again, if there had been only one weld, then the shear stress (Tfillet) would be twice the
value calculated from the above equation.
 4. Fillet welds in a tee joint
As was the case with the lap joint and the transverse joint the tensile
force ( P) acting on the tee joint is balanced by a shear stress (Tfillet)
acting over the effective areas of both fillet welds, where each effective
area is again given by.

A fillet =HL=( t .cos 450 ) . L=0.707 . t . L

Therefore, using the effective area of one weld given above, the shear
stress (Tfillet) for the transverse joint is also given by.
P P P P
τ fillet = = = =
2. A fillet 2. H . L 2. ( 0.707 t ) . ( L ) ( 1.414 t ) . ( L )
While unlikely, if there had been only one weld, then the shear stress (Tfillet) would be twice the value.

Torsional Loading
The applied load ( P) must be balanced by a shear force (V ) upward and a torque (T ) Counterclockwise
and that produce shear stresses, (Tshear) and (Ttorsion), respectively, in the two welds. Using this
dimensions shown below, the shear stress (Tshear) due to the shear force (V ), which is equal to the applied
load ( P), is given by:

V P P P
τ fillet = = = =
2. A fillet 2. H . L 2. ( 0.707 t ) . ( L ) ( 1.414 t ) . ( L )

T . r 0 (P . L0 ). r 0
T Torsion= =
J Group J Group

where (Lo) is the perpendicular distance from the centroid of the weld group, point O, to the applied load (
P), (ro) is the radial distance from the centroid of the weld group to the farthest point on any of the welds,
and ( Jgroup) is the polar moment of inertia of the two weld areas (each H × L) about the centroid of the weld
group.

L 2
r0 =
√( ) 2
+ d 02

And the polar moment of inertia (Jgroup) can be determined from the expression
 L . H3 H . L3
I x= ( 12 ) (
+ L . H . d 02 , I y =
12 )
LH. 3 H .L 3
j
puorg =.2 (xI +yI =.2
) (
21
. .d 02+
+L H
21 )
Where the factor 2 reflects the fact that there are two welds and the terms in brackets represent the
application of the parallel axis theorem to the rectangular weld shapes.

Notice that the shear stress (tshear) acts downward at any point on either of the two welds; however, the
shear stress (τtorsion) acts perpendicular to the radial distance (ro). There are four points, labeled (A), (B),
(C), and (D) in Fig. 8.13, where the shear stress (Ttorsion) is maximum. The maximum shear stress (Tmax) is
therefore the geometric sum of these two separate shear stresses and is found using the law of cosines in the
scalene triangle formed by these three stresses and shown below.

The angle (α) is calculated as:

α =tan−1 ( L/2
d )
0

Where (L) is the length of the weld and (do) is the distance from the centroid of the weld group to the centerline of
the weld. The angle (β) is the supplement of the angle (α) and as shown in Fig. 8.14 is given by

β=1800 −α

Therefore, using the law of cosines on the resulting scalene triangle, the maximum shear stress (Tmax) is determined
from below.

τ 2max =τ 2shear + τ 2torsion −2. τ shear . τ torsion . cos β

 Bending Loading

Consider the welded joint where two fillet welds support the cantilevered bar at the top and
bottom and carry a downward applied load ( P), and where as usual, (t ) is the weld size, (H )
is the weld throat, and (L) is the weld length.

The applied load ( P) must be balanced by a shear force (V ) upward and a bending moment
(M ) counterclockwise. The shear force (V ) produces a shear stress (Tshear) and the bending
moment produces a normal stress (σbending) in the two welds. the shear stress (Tshear) due to the
shear force (V ), which is equal to the applied load ( P), is given below.
P P P P
τ shear = = = =
2. A fillet 2. H . L 2. ( 0.707 t ) . ( L ) ( 1.414 t ) . ( L )

The normal stress (σbending) due to the bending moment (M ) is given by

M . d 0 (P . L0 )d 0
τ bending= =
I group I group

Where (Lo) is the perpendicular distance from the centroid of the weld group, point O, to the applied load
( P), (do) is the vertical distance from the centroid of the weld group to the centerline of the weld, and (Igroup)
is the moment of inertia of the weld areas about the centroid of the weld group.
Therefore, using the dimensions shown above, the moment of inertia (Igroup) for

L. H 3
I Group=2. ( 12
+ L . H . d 02 )
Where the factor 2 reflects the fact that there are two welds and the terms in brackets represent the
application of the parallel axis theorem to the rectangular weld shapes.
For the weld joint arrangement in Fig. 8.17, which is a variation of the weld joint
arrangement shown in Fig. 8.15, the moment of inertia (Igroup) would be given by
H . L3
I Group=2. ( 12 )

P P P P
τ shear = = = =
2. A fillet 2. H . L 2. ( 0.707 t ) . ( L ) ( 1.414 t ) . ( L )
 Fillet Welds Treated as Lines

As was presented in a previous section, the

applied load ( P) must be balanced by a shear force (V ) upward and a torque (T ) counterclockwise and that
produce shear stresses,( Tshear) and (Ttorsion), respectively, in the welds. Using the dimensions shown in Fig.
8.19, the shear stress (Tshear) due to the shear force (V ), which is equal to the applied load ( P), is given by
Eq. (8.83),
V P
τ shear = =
A total 2. L1 + L2

T .r 0 ( P . L0). r 0
τ Torsion = =
J Group J Group

L12
D 0=
2. L1+ L2

The radial distance (ro) can be determined from the Pythagorean

Theorem as

L2 2
r0 =
√( 2 )
+(L1−D0)
2

And the polar moment of inertia ( Jgroup) can be determined from the expression
3
( 2. L1+ L2) L12 ( L1 + L2 )2
I Group=
( 12
−
( 2. L1 + L2 ) )
Where again the weld throat (H ) has been set equal to unity (1).
L1−d 0
Using the dimensions in Fig. 8.20, the angle (α) is calculated as α =tan
−1
( L2 /2 )
And the angle (β), which is the supplement of the angle (α), is given by

β=1800 −α
Therefore, using the law of cosines on the resulting scalene triangle formed by the three shear stresses in
Fig. 8.20, the maximum shear stress (σmax) is determined from Eq. (8.78). To find the required weld throat
(H ), divide the maximum shear stress (Tmax), which will have units of (stress–width), by the weld strength
(Sweld), which will have units of (stress), that is,
τ max Stress−width
Weld throat H= ( )(s weld
=
Stress ) =width

The required weld size (t ) is then determined from the weld throat (H ) as

Weld ¿ ¿ ( cosH45 )
The weld strength in shear is specified by the particular code governing the design of the machine element.
For the AWS code, the weld strength in shear is taken as 30 percent of the ultimate tensile strength (Sut ) of
the electrode material, that is
sweld =0.30 sut

For example, E60xx electrode material has an ultimate tensile stress 420 MPa; therefore the weld strength
(Sweld) in shear would be
sweld =0.30 sut =0. .30 .(420 MPa)=126 .0 MPa

Other welding electrodes have higher ultimate tensile strengths, and therefore higher allowable weld
strengths.