HSS Slotted Gusset Connection with Shear

I would treat each half of the subdivided HSS as something of a miniature moment frame. Your section view illustrates this nicely. Pin the 'legs' and see what load results in a moment exceeding that of the HSS wall. Seems rational enough to me.

CIDECT Design Guide 3, Table 7.1 (somewhat) covers this connection detail. The design limit state to be checked is chord wall plastification. In the figure they show, the plate runs through the HSS at an interior point along the HSS. Since your connection plate is at the end of the HSS, there may be some additional capacity loss (hence the word "somewhat" covers).

I always put a cap pl on the ends of HSS members...in this case it would be a soft connection in carrying vertical shear without the cap pl....

Thanks for the replies.

EIT