Shear lag effects in angles welded at both legs

Abstract

The shear lag phenomenon is known to reduce the tensile capacity of tension members. There are various parameters affecting shear lag that have not been considered before. In addition, previous studies have been conducted mainly on single steel sections. Using numerical methods, the present study investigates the effects of relevant parameters on shear lag in single- and double-angle sections welded at both legs. The studied parameters are connection eccentricity, connection length, gusset plate thickness, member-free length, and connection-free length. The results of the numerical analyses show that, in single-angle connections, the effects of connection length, connection eccentricity, and gusset plate thickness are more pronounced, while in double-angle connections the last parameter is not very critical. Comparing the results with the AISC-LRFD predictions, it is concluded that the specification relations are conservative in most cases. In order to reduce the overconservatism, some new equations for shear lag estimate are introduced.