HSS Brace To WF Col Web Weld Acess 3

[haynewp]

I have a case where due to very tight arch ceiling and wall interferences I can't install a gusset into the web to reach out and catch an HSS brace connecting to a WF column. The gusset would have to stick out too far from the column web for me to get the required welds to the HSS. Therefore, I am looking at connecting the HSS brace directly to the web and welding all around the HSS.

Would there appear to be enough room for weld accessibility in the attached case of welding directly to the column web? I am thinking of them accessing from the underside to get the needed welds on the sides of the HSS. The top side may be a little more difficult.

[URL unfurl="true"]https://res.cloudinary.com/engineering-com/image/upload/v1614358028/tips/HSS_KNEE_BRACE_TO_WEB_mmgxuo.pdf[/url]

 

[DrZoidberWoop]

You can definitely weld directly to the web. The maximum fillet weld your column web will handle (on each side) is tw_col*Fu_col/6.19=0.45*65/6.19= 4.73 Sixteenths, so a single pass weld. You can apply a small PJP on the toe side.


You could also do something like this.

 

[KootK]

If it's possible to do something like this, I feel that it would both:

1) Eliminate your weld access issue and;

2) Provide a more robust load path through the connection and into the column flanges.

You could even make it a bolted connection if the overhead welding is a concern.

 

[haynewp]

Thanks. When I was trying something like you show with a gusset I was getting Whitmore section violations.

KootK, my response went through for Dr.Z before I saw your post but that is a good idea. Perhaps I can check it not as a gusset plate with the standard Whitmore section with a stiffened gusset extension instead.

 

[KootK]

I had the same thought. No matter how you go about checking it, it's an arrangement that doesn't feel very "buckly" to me. In addition to adding stability to the gusset, I like that it converts the setup from one that might add torsional instability to the column to one that should effectively brace the column torsionally. I feel like Blodgett would approve.