made along only one leg of the angle.

When the angle is

loaded in tension the leg that is fastened has a disproportionate share of the tension load. This unbalance causes a shear
force to lag across the section.
W

WELD SHEAR

Weld shear is applicable to each welded ply of a connection.

The failure mode for fillet welds is always assumed to be a
shear failure on the effective throat of the weld. In a similar fashion as bolt shear, if the load path does not pass
through the center of gravity of a weld group, then the load
is considered eccentric. Eccentrically loaded weld groups
are subject to a moment that tends to induce either additional shear (for in-plane loads) or combined shear and tension (for out-of-plane loads).
WS

Figure 2-14. Tension Fracture Limit State

(Photo by J.A. Swanson and R. Leon,
courtesy of Georgia Institute of Technology)

WHITMORE SECTION
YIELDING / BUCKLING

Whitmore section yielding or buckling is a limit state that

applies to bolted and welded gusset plates and similar fittings that are much wider than the pattern of bolts or welds
within them. The stress distribution through the ends of
members that are attached to the gusset is complex. This
limit state involves either the yielding or buckling of plate
material near the ends of the attached members. The Whitmore method of analysis assumes the member force is uniformly distributed over an effective area. This effective area
is determined by multiplying the gusset plate thickness by
an effective length that is defined from the projection of 30degree lines on each side of the strut member that is connected to the gusset plate. The projection is assumed to
originate at either the first row of bolts on the plate or the
origin of the weld. The projection is assumed to terminate at
the plane that passes through the last row of bolts or at the
end of the welds. The 30-degree projection lines form a
trapezoid, and the effective length is assumed as the base
dimension of this trapezoid.

2-6 Connections Teaching Toolkit

Figure 2-15. Weld Shear Limit State

(Astaneh, A. and Nader, M.N., 1989)