Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 1

Chapter Seven: Structural Connections and Design of Joints

7.1 Introduction

Every structure is an assemblage of individual parts or members which must be fastened

together, usually at the ends of its members. The two main fastening means are bolting and
welding (with a few and isolated case also riveting and pins). Connections are structural elements
used for joining different members of a framework. Connections can be classified according to:

The type of connecting medium used: bolted connections, welded connections, bolted-
welded connections riveted connections.
The type of internal forces the connections are expected to transmit: shear (Type PR,
semi-rigid, simple) connections, moment (Type FR, rigid) connections.
The type of structural elements that made up the connections: single-plate angle
connections, double web angle connections, top and seated angle connections, seated
beam connections, etc.
The type of members the connections are joining: beam-to-beam connections (beam
splices), column-to-column connections (column splices), beam-to-column connections,
hanger connections.

To design a connection properly, a designer must have a through understanding of the behavior
of the joint under loads. Different modes of failure can occur depending on the geometry of the
connection and the relative strengths and stiffness of the various components of the connection.
To ensure that the connection can carry the applied loads, a designer must check for all limit
states pertinent to each component of the connection and for the connection as a whole.

Connections may be designed by distributing the internal forces and moments in a realistic
manner, bearing in mind the relative stiffness of elements that make up the connection. The
internal forces and moments must be in equilibrium with the applied forces and moments. Each
element participating in the assumed load paths should be capable of resisting the forces
assumed in the analysis and at the implied deformation within the elements deformation
capacity.

Where a connection is subject to impact, vibration, or frequent reversal of significant stress,

welding is to be the preferred method of joining.

Ease of fabrication and erection are factors to be considered in the design of all joints and
splices. Attention should be paid to:

use of standardized details

the clearances necessary for safe erection
the clearances needed for tightening fasteners
the need for access for welding
the requirements of welding procedures
the effects of angular and length tolerances on fit-up.

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 2

Attention should also be paid to the requirements for subsequent inspection and maintenance.

Members meeting at a joint should normally be arranged with their centroidal axes intersecting
at a point. Where there is eccentricity at intersections, the members and connections should be
designed to accommodate the resulting moments. For bolted angles, the setting out lines of the
bolts may be adopted instead of the centroidal axes.

TYPES OF JOINTS

The types of joints in structural connections depend on many design considerations, including the
size and shape of the members coming into the joint, the type of loading, the amount of joint
area available for connection, and the relative
costs for various types of connections. There
are five basic types of connections although
many variations and combinations are found in
practice. The five basic types are the butt,
lap, tee, corner, and edge joints, as shown in
Fig. 7.1.

Butt Joints are used mainly to join the ends

of flat plates having the same or nearly the
same thickness. The principal advantage of
this type of joint is to climate the
eccentricity developed in single lap joints as
shown in Fig. 7.1b. When used in conjunction
with full penetration welds, butt joints
minimize the size of a connection and are
usually more esthetically pleasing than built-
up joints. Their principal disadvantage lies in
the fact that the edges to be connected must
usually be specially prepared (beveled or ground flat) and very carefully aligned prior to welding.
Little adjustable is possible and the pieces must be carefully detailed and fabricated. As a
result, most butt joints are made in the shop where the welding process can be accurately
controlled.

Lap joints are the most common type of joint and

are used in a large variety of connections. Figure
7.2 shows a few common applications of the lap
joint. There are two principal advantages to suing
lap joints:

1. Ease of fitting. Pieces being joined do not

require the preciseness in fabricating as do
the other types of joints. The pieces can

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 3

be slightly shifted to accommodate minor errors in fabrication or to make adjustments in

length.
2. Ease of joining. The edges of the joined do not need special preparation and are usually
sheared or flame cut. Lap joints are especially adapted to accepting fillet welds and are
therefore equally well suited to shop or field welding. The pieces being joined are in
most cases simply clamped together without the use of special jigs. Occasionally the
pieces are positioned by a small number of erection bolts which may either be left In
place or removed after the welding is completed.

A further advantage of the lap joint is the ease in which plates of different thickness can be
joined.

Tee Joints are used to fabricate built up sections such as tees, H-shapes, plate girders, bearing
stiffeners, hangers, brackets, and in general, pieces framing in at right angles. This type of
joint is especially useful in that it permits sections to be built up of flat plates which can be
joined by either fillet or groove welds.

Corner Joints are used principally to form built-up rectangular box sections such as used for
columns and for beams required to resist high torsional forces.

Edge Joints are generally not structural but are most frequently used to keep two or more
plates in a given plane or to maintain initial alignment.

The variations and combinations of the five basic types of joints discussed so far are virtually
infinite. Since there is usually more than one way to connect one structural member to another,
the designer is left with the decision for selecting the best joint (or combination of joints) in
each given situation.

BOLTS AND BOLTED CONNECTIONS

A bolt a metal made pin made generally of mild steel. At its one end, there is head and the shank
is threaded to take the nut at the other end. Structural
bolts are usually with square heads and the nuts can be
either square or hexagonal. A typical bolt is shown in Fig.
7.3.

Bolted connections are connections whose components

are fastened together primarily by bolts. The strength
of a connection is to be taken as the lesser of the
strength of the connected parts or that of the
fasteners. To get the maximum strength of a bolted
connection, the connected parts should be tightly
clamped between the bolt head and the nut. Nuts should Fig. 7.3 Bolt assembly
be locked in position by some locking devices so that they may not become loose due to shock,
etc., or at least the top of the thread should be burred when the must is no. Under the bolt
head and the nut steel, washers should be used to prevent the bearing of the bolt against the

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 4

surface of the connected members. Washers should be of such a thickness that the thread is
clear of the hole in the plate. The shanks also should project beyond the nuts by at least one
full thread.

Depending on the direction and line of action of the loads relative to the orientation and location
of the bolts may be loaded in tension, shear, or a combination of tension and shear. Typical
bolted connections are shown in Fig. 7.4.

For bolts subjected to shear forces, the design shear strength of the bolts also depends on
whether or not the treads of the bolts are excluded from the shear planes.

Fig.7.4a Typical bolted connection with cover plates,

loaded by shear force Fig.7.4b Bolted beam- to- column connection
Loaded by tension force

Fig. 7.4d Load transmission in a splice joint,

combined bearing and shear
Fig. 7.4c Bolted beam-to-column connection with brace,
loaded by combined tension and shear force
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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 5

FAILURE MODEE BOLTS

There are many possible modes of failure that can occur in bolted connections, the most common
ones of which are shown in Fig. 7.5.

The shearing failure through the shank of the bolt (Fig. 7.5a) may be prevented by providing a
sufficient number of bolts to reduce the nominal shear stress to an acceptable value. The shear
failure of the plate (Fig.7.5b) can be avoided by providing sufficient end distance as generally
prescribed by specifications empirically without the necessity of computing stress (i.e., as for
example, EBCS 3 1995 or AISC-LRDF Specifications).

A bearing failure of the bolt itself (Fig.7.5c) is rare, occurring only when the material of the
steel in the plates is harder than that in the bolts. A more common bearing failure is the type in
which the plate fails (Fig. 7.5d) due to excessive elongation of the hole. This type of failure can
be prevented by providing thicker plates.

The tensile failure shown in Fig.7.5e may result from over-tightening the bolts, or from
excessive externally applied tensile forces. This type of failure is not common; in erection,
failure by over-tightening is corrected by immediate replacement of the bolt and external
tension may be reduced by increasing the number of bolts or using larger-diameter bolts.

The bending failure indicated in Fig. 7.5f is caused by using excessively long bolts in excessively
thick connections made
up of several layers of
plates. This type of
failure can be prevented
by redesigning the
connection to use larger-
diameter connectors.

The tension failure of

the plate, indicated in
Fig. 7.5g, may be caused
if sufficient edge
distance is not provided
for. This type of failure
may also be caused by
the internal pressure of
an over-driven rivet.
This splitting or failure
by tearing of plate can
be avoided by providing
adequate edge distance
and/or thickness. Fig. 7.5 Possible modes of failure of bolted connections

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 6

Analysis of Eccentric Shear

When the load P is applied on a line of action that doesnt pass through the center of gravity of
a bolt gruoip, there will be an eccentric loading eefect as shown in fig. A load P at an
eccentiricxity e, (see Fig.) , is statically equivalenyt to a moment P times e plus a concentric load
P both actoing on the connection. Since both the moment and the concentric load contribute
shear effects on bolt group, the situation is refferd to as eccentric shaer.

To develop the equations for computing the resultaln, condider firtst the connection acted up on
by the moment M, as shown in Fig. Neglecting friction between the plates, the moment equals
the sume of the forces shown in Fig. times their distranmces to the centroid of the fastner4
areas:
M = R1d1 + R2d2 + . . . + R6d6 = Rd (a)

The deformation in each fastner is assumed proportional to its distance d from the assumed
center of twist. If all fasteners are considered elastic and offequal cross-sectional area A, the
force R on each fastner is there fore, also proportional to its distance d from the centror of the
fastner group,
R1 R2 R
... 6 (b)
d d2 d6
Rewriting the forces in terms of R1 and d1,

R1d1 R2 d 2 R6 d 6
R2 ; R2 ; ..., R6
d1 d2 d6
Substiututing Eq into eq(a)

2
Rd R d2 R d2
M 1 1 2 2 ... 6 6
d1 d2 d6
R

1 d12 d 22 ... d62
d1
R
1 d2
d1
The force in fastner ! is therefore

Md1
R1 2
d
And by similar reasoning, the forces on the other fastners are:
Md 2 Md3 Md6
R2 2
; R3 2
; ..., R6 2
d d d
Or in general,

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 7

Md
R 2 (d)
d
Which gives the force R on the fastener at a distance D from the centre of rotation.
It is usually convenient to work with the horizontal and vertical components of R, Rx and Ry,
respectively, obtained when the horizontal and vertical components of d, x and y, respectively
are used in equation (d)

From Fig.
y x
Rx and Ry (e)
d d
Substituting Eq. (e) in to Eq. (d) gives

My Mx
Rx 2 and
Ry 2 (f)
d d
Noting that d2 = x2 + y2, Eqs. (f) may be written
My Mx
Rx 2 and
Ry
x y x y
2 2 2

By taking the vector sum of Rx and R y, the total force R on the fastener becomes
R Rx2 Ry2
To compute the total force on a fastener in an eccentric shear connection such as shown in Fig.
4.12.2a, the direct shear force Rv is
P
Rv
N
Where N is the number of fastener

Bolt Grades

Bolts and nuts are available in steels of minimum tensile strengths up to about 1370 MPa.
The grade of the bolts is indicated by two numbers. The most common grades are 4.6, 5.6, 6.5,
6.8, 8.8 and 10.9. According to EBCS 3, the design yield stress f yb and the design ultimate stress
fub of the usual bolts are as given in Table 7.1

Table 7.1: Mechanical properties of bolts

Grade 4.6 5.6 6.5 6.8 8.8 10.9

fyb (MPa) 240 300 300 480 640 900

fub (MPa) 400 500 600 600 800 1000

The design yield stress fyb can be derived from the grade by multiplying the first number by the
second number times 10. The design ultimate stress f ub is the first number times 100 (stresses
in MPa).
Bolts of grade 8.8 are used most frequently.

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 8

Bolt Holes

Holes can be formed by drilling or punching. The maximum clearance is standard holes are:
1mm for M12 and M14 bolts
2mm for M16 to M24 bolts
3mm for M27 and larger bolts

Bolt holes made in the connected parts may be standard-sized, oversized, short-slotted, or long-
slotted. Table 7.2 gives the maximum hole dimension for ordinary construction usage per EBCS
3, 1995.

Standard holes can be used for both bearing-type and slip-critical connections. Oversized
holes are to be used only for slip-critical connections. Short-slotted and long-slotted holes can
be used for both bearing-type and slip-critical connections, provided that, when such holes are
used for bearing, the direction of the slot is transverse to the direction of loading.

Table 7.2. Maximum dimension of holes (EBCS 3 1995)

Bolt shank Clearance hole Oversize Short slotted Long slotted
diameter diameter [mm] hole hole dimensions hole dimensions
[mm] diameter [mm] [mm]
[mm]
d 14 d+1 d+4 d+1 d+4 d+1 2.5d
14< d 22 d+2 d+5 d+2 d+4 d+2 2.5d
d = 24 d+2 d+6 d+2 d+8 d+2 2.5d
d 27 d+3 d+8 d+3 d+ 10 d+3 2.5d

Spacing Requirements

The positioning of holes for bolts should be such as to

prevent corrosion and local buckling and to facilitate the
installation of the bolts.
The positioning of the holes shall also be in conformity
with the limits of validity for the rules used to determine
the design resistances of the bolts with reference to
EBCS 3.

Minimum end distance and edge distance

Edge distance is defined as the distance from the center

of a hole to the adjacent edge of the connecting part at
right angles to the direction of stress; end distance is
similary defined but in the direction in which the fastner
bears.

Asper the requirements of EBCS 3 1995, the minimum

value of the end distance, e 1, or that of the edge

Fig. 7.6 Spacing requirements

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 9

distance, e2 (see Fig. 7.6a) should be taken as 1.2d 0 and 1.5d0. respectively, where d0 is the nominal bolt
diameter. Note that the end distance may need to be larger than this to provide adequate bearing
resistance.

Table 7.3. Provides a summary of edge and end distances as well as spacing requirements for bolt holes.

The maximum value of the end or edge distance should be restricted to the larger of 12t or 150mm, where
t is the thickness of the thinner outer ply.

Table 7.3. Maximum dimension of holes (EBCS 3 1995)

Hole spacing in the direction of

Edge and end distance in the direction of loading
loading
Min e1 = 1.2d0 p1 = 2.2 d0
Structural component
e1 = 40mm + 4t protected against
Max
wetting and corrosion p1 = 14t 200 mm
e1 = 12t 150 mm All other cases
Edge and end distance in the direction perpendicular Hole spacing in the direction
to the loading perpendicular to the loading
e2 = 1.5d0 p2 = 3.0d0
Min Limiting bolt shear Limiting bolt shear
e2 = 1.2d0 P2 = 2.4d0
capacity reduced capacity reduced
E2 = 40mm +4t
Max P2 = 14t 200 mm
e2 = 12t 150mm
Note: values in this table have been slightly modified to reflect recent changes in Eurocode 3.

A minimum center-to-center bolt spacing of 2.2d 0 in the direction of stress, p1, is recommended.
The corresponding recommended minimum spacing, p2, normal to the direction of stress is 3d0.

The maximum spacing of bolts in any direction should be such that local compressive buckling of
outstand elements can be prevented.

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 10

Design of Bolted Connections, EBCS 3, 1995

A bolted joint is subjected to various types of stress. These stresses and the verification of
the joint for capacity are presented subsequently. Presentation will be made separately with
regard to connected parts and the fasteners.

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 11

Connected Parts.

Bearing Resistance.

The bearing resistance of each ply in a connection may be determined by summing the
resistance, Fbp,Rd, obtained at all bolt locations.

d t f bp , d 1 t f bp.d
Fbb. Rd e1
Mb 2 mb (7.1)

Where:
d = the nominal diameter of bolt
t = the thickness of the connected ply, or if the bolts countersunk, the thickness if the
ply minus half of the depth of countersinking.
fbp.d = the design bearing strength of the connected parts = 0.8 (f u + fy)
in which fu = the specified minimum ultimate tensile strength of the connected part
fy = the specified minimum yield strength of the connected part
e1 = the edge distance

Tension Capacity

The tensile capacity of the connected part subject to collinear forces should be based on the
lesser of:

The ultimate resistance of the net section which may be taken as:

0.9k r An f u (7.2)
N u . Rd mL 1.25
M 2

Where:
Kr = 1.09r + 3rd/c
r = the force transmitted by the bolt or bolts at the section considered, divided by the
tension force in the member at that section
d = nominal bolt diameter
c = spacing of bolts perpendicular to line of stress. In the case of a single bolt, s = width
of shear of plate

The plastic resistance of the gross section:

A fy
N p1. RT (7.3)
M0

If ductile behavior is required then the plastic resistance must be less than the net section
ultimate resistance.

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 12

Shear Rupture Strength

The design value of the effective resistance Veff.Rd for rupture along a block shear failure path
shall be determined from:
0.6 x f y x Av.eff
Veff , Rd (7.4)
M0
Where
M0 = 1.1. = partial safety factor
Fy = specified minimum yield stress of steel
Av,eff = effective shear area subject to block shear.

The effective shear area Av.eff for block shear (Art.6.2.3.2, EBCS 3 1995) is determined from:

Av.eff = t (Lv + L1 + L2 nd0) (7.5)

In which L1 and L2 are given by:

L1 = 5.0d0 a1
L2 = 2.5d0 a2
and n = the number of fastener holes in the block shear failure path
d0 = hole diameter
t = thickness of the web or bracket.

Fasteners

Net Areas

The area of the bolt to be used in calculations in tension should be taken as the tensile stress
area as defined in the appropriate standard.

For bolts in shear, the greater shank area may be used if it can be guaranteed that the
threaded portion will be excluded from the shear plane: consideration should be given to the
possibility that bolts may be inserted from either direction. If no such guarantee can be given
the tensile stress area should be assumed.

Bearing

The bearing resistance of the bolt may be determined as:

2.5 f bb d t
Where Fbb. Rd (7.6)
Mb
fbb = the basic design = 0.9 (fub + fyb)
in which fub = the specified minimum ultimate tensile strength of the fastener
fyb = the specified minimum yield strength of the fastener.

Shear Capacity

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 13

Shear connections are connections designed to resist shear force only. These connections are
not expected to provide appreciable moment restraint to the connection members

Bolts designed to resist a factored shear force F v,sd, calculated using appropriate load
combinations, must satisfy the condition:

Fv,sd Fv,Rd (7.7)

The shear fore to carried per each plane of a bolt is F v,sd = Fsd/m, where Fsd is the total shear
force to be transmitted through the joint and m is the number of shearing surfaces.

The shear capacity of a bolt is dependent on the number of shear planes and their position along
the bolt. For each shear plane the shear resistance in the absence of tension can be determined
as follows:

a. for shear plane in the unthreaded portion:

0.6 f ub . A (7.8a)
Fv. Rd f v.d A
Mb
where: A is the shank area.

b. for shear plane passing in threaded portion:

0.6 f ub As (7.8b)
Fv. Rd f v.d As
Mb
in which As is the tensile stress area.

In both the above equations:

fub = the specified minimum ultimate tensile strength of the fastener

fv.d = the design shear strength of the fastener

0.87 f yb Mb

Tensile Capacity

If a tensile force is applied to the connection such that the direction of load is parallel to the
longitudinal axes of the bolts, the bolts will be subjected to tension. A typical application in
which bolts are subjected to such type of actions is in bolted hanger-type connections. Bolts
designed to resists externally applied factored tensile load F t,sd, calculated using appropriated
load combinations, must satisfy the condition:

Ft,Sd Ft,Rd (7.9a)

Where
Ft,Rd = design tension strength of the bolt

0.70 f ub Aeff
f td As
Mb 1.25 (7.9b)

and ft,d = the design tensile strength of the fastener

0.70 f ub 1.0 f yb

Design of Steel and Mb CENG 4408
MbTimber Structures Yirgalem D.
 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 14

in which fub = the specified minimum ultimate tensile strength of the fastener
fvb = the specified minimum yield strength of the fastener

Combined Shear and Tension

There are a number of connection types that are subjected to both tensile and shear forces. As
a result, the capacity of the connection is limited to the combined tension-shear capacities of
the bolts.

When a bolt is simultaneously subjected to a shear force, F v,sd, and a tensile force (including
prying effects as noted above), F t,sd, interaction effects should be considered. This may be
accounted for by satisfying the following interaction equation:
Fv , Sd Ft .Sd
1.0 (7.10)
Fv. Rd 1.4 Ft . Rd

Where Fv,Rd and Ft.Rd may be taken from Eqs. (7.8) and (7.9), respectively.

Welds and Welded Connections

Welded connections are connections whose components are joined together primarily by welds.

Types of welded connections

The four basic types of welds are the butt, fillet, slot, and plug welds. In welded construction
for buildings approximately 80% of the welds are fillet welds and 15% are butt welds. The
remaining 5% are plug, slot and spot welds.

Each basic type of weld has specific advantages which determines the extent of its usage. The
four basic types of welds and their variations constitute virtually all of the structural welds
found in common practice.

Butte Welds

The principal use of butt welds is to connect

structural members which are aligned in the same
plane. Since butt welds must transmit the entire
load at a particular joint they usually must have at
least as good structural properties as the members
which they connect; in which case they may be
reffered to as full penetration welds. There are
many variations of butt welds and each is classified
according to its particular shape. Each type of butt
weld requires a specific edge preparation and is
named accordingly.

Design of Steel and Timber Structures CENG 4408 Yirgalem D.

Fig. 7.8 Types of beveled edges
 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 15

Fillet Welds

A fillet weld is a weld of approximately triangular

cross-section applied to the surface profile of the
plates. Fillet welds owing to their overall economy,
ease of fabricating, and adaptability are the most
widely used of all the basic welds. Fillet welds
offer great flexibility to the designer since they
are adaptable to a large variety of connections, a
few of which were shown in Fig. 7.9. They
generally require less precision in the fitting up
since the plates being joined can be moved about
more than butt welds that may require specific
gaps or critical alignment.

This is particularly advantageous to welding in the

field or in realigning members or connections that
were fabricated within accepted tolerance but
Fig. 7.7 Butt welds with full penetration which may not fit as accurately as desired. In
addition, the edges of pieces being joined seldom
need special preparation such as beveling or squaring since the
edge conditions resulting from the usual flame cutting or from
shear cutting procedures are generally adequate.

Slot and Plug Welds

Slot and plug welds may be used exclusively or they may be

used in combination with fillet welds as shown. A principal use
for plug or slot welds is to transmit shear in a lap joint when
the size of the connection limits the length available for filler
or other edge welds. Slot and plug welds are also useful in
preventing overlapping parts from buckling.

Classification of welded Connections

Welds can be classified according to:

Form of weld (butt, fillet, plug, and slot)
Position of the weld (horizontal, vertical, overhead, and
flat)
Fig. 7.9 Fillet welds
Types of joint (butt, lap, corner, edge, and tee)

Although fillet welds are weaker than butt welds, they are
used much more often, because they allow for larger
tolerances during erection than butt welds. Plug and slot welds
Fig. 7.10 Slot and plug welds
are expensive to make, and they do not provide much reliability

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 16

in transmitting tensile forces perpendicular to the faying surfaces (the surfaces to be joined).
Furthermore, quality control of such welds is difficult, because inspection of the welds is rather
arduous. As a result, plug and slot welds are normally used only for stitching different parts of
the members together.

Welding Symbols

A shorthand notation giving important information on the location, size, length, etc., for the
various types of welds has been developed to facilitate the detailing of welds. Welding symbols
provide the means for simple and yet accurate communication between the designer and the
fabricator. This system of notation varies slightly among the various international standards;
the one developed by the American Welding Society and used in many countries is reproduced in
Fig. 7.11.

Design Strength of Welds

The design strength of welds is taken as the lower value of the design strength of the base
material and the design strength of the weld electrode. Various specifications provide
guidelines on how to evaluate strength of welds. The design strength of welds should exceed
the required strength obtained by dividing the load to be transmitted by the effective area of
the welds.

Effective Area of Welds

The effective area of groove welds is equal to the product of the width of the part joined and
the effective throat thickness. Different types of welds exhibit varying throat thickness the
values of which are specified in various standards.

Size and Length Limitation of Welds

To ensure the effectiveness of the welds, certain size and length limitations are imposed by the
various code standards.
The following parameters shall be checked for the suitability of a welded connection:
Minimum size of leg
Maximum size of leg
Minimum length of weld
End returns

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 17

Fig.7.11 Basic weld symbols

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 18

Fig. 7.12 Common uses of welding symbols

Welded Connections for Various Types of Actions

Weld connections for tension members

The factored axial force F is assumed to act along the center of gravity of the angle. To avoid
eccentricity, the lengths of the two fillet welds must be proportioned so that their resultant will
also act along the center of gravity of the angle.

From equilibrium considerations, the following equations can be written. Summing forces along
the axis of the angle:
(FM) teff L1 + (FM) teff L2 = F (7.11a)

Summing moments about the center of gravity of the angle:

(FM) teff L1 e1 = (FM) teff L2 e2 (7.11b)
Where:
FM = the design strength of the weld
Teff = the effective throat thickness
L1, L2 = the length of the welds corresponding to F1 and F2 respectively
e1, e2 = eccentricity of welds

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 19

Fig. 7.13 Welded connection of an angle to a gusset plate Fig. 7.14 Concentric and Eccentric welds

The two equations can be used to solve for L 1 and L2. If end returns are used, the added
strength of the end returns should also be included in the calculations. Generally the design of
welds are done as per Art. 6.5, EBCS 3 1995.

Connections in Multi-story Buildings

Steel frame buildings consist of a number of different types of structural elements, each of
which has to be properly attached to the neighboring parts of the structure. This will involve the
use of several forms of connection. The main classes of connection are: beam-to-column
connections, beam-to-beam connections and connections between different members in trusses,
Splicing of columns are normally at every two or three storeys, column bases, connections to
concrete cores and connections with walls, floors and roofs.

Fig. 7.15 Connections in multi-story frames

Types of Connections

For buildings designed to resist essentially static loading, including wind loads, it will normally be
sufficient to design connections to resist forces that primarily act in one direction only.
However, in seismic zones large load reversals may occur. This load reversal will normally require
a different approach to the design of the load-resisting structure, leading to different forms of
connection.

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 20

For multi-storey buildings the connections between the main structural elements may
conveniently be classified as:
Beam-to-beam connections
Beam-to-column connections
Column splices
Column bases
Bracing connections.

They are as shown in the following Figures

Fig. 7.16 Simple beam-to-beam connections Fig. 7.17 Rigid beam-to-beam connections

Fig. 7.18 Simple beam-to-column connections

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Fig. 7.19 Rigid beam-to-column connections

Fig. 7.20 Column splices

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Fig. 7.21 Column bases

Fig. 7.22 Horizontal bracing connections

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 Chapter Seven: Structural Connection and Design of Joints 23

Fig. 7.23 Vertical bracing connections

______________________________
ADDITIONAL READING

E.H. Gayloard and J.E. Stalmeyer

Chapter 8
Charles G. Salmon and Johne E. Johnson
Chapter 13
Robert Englekirk
Chapter 5
EBSC 3 and EC 3

Design of Steel and Timber Structures CENG 4408 Yirgalem D.