Shear Lug to Baseplate Weld

[Loui1]

Since you're typically designing for the full yield capacity of the lug, would you need a complete joint penetration weld? Or can a smaller weld create a force couple without creating stress concentrations that would yield the lug material?

 

[WillisV]

A CJP would certainly work however most steel fabricators would prefer to use heavy fillet welds on both sides of the lug. It is acceptable to resolve the forces into shears and a tension/compression force couple on each fillet. This procedure is shown on p42 of AISC's Design Guide 1 (2nd edition).