Temporary structures are usually constructed in a less precise manner than permanent structures. This is more so in a braced deep excavation where the walls are in constant motion as the excavation progresses downwards. During the assembly of walers and struts, there could be a small gap between the strut-waler connection due to fabrication imperfections. How does one decide whether the fillet weld connecting the strut to the waler need to be designed against compression due to possibility of such a small gap?
Asked
Active
Viewed 536 times
1 Answers
4
How does one decide whether the fillet weld connecting the strut to the waler need to be designed against compression due to possibility of such a small gap?
In our office, we generally design welds to take compression load due to the exact reason you're specifying. Unless you can ascertain that you have full bearing between the two pieces (i.e., both pieces are milled to mate perfectly), I would say you should check compression on the weld.
For a code reference, the closest I can find is from the AISC 360-10 specification, section J1.1:
The required strength of the connection shall be determined by structural analysis for the specified design loads, consistent with the type of construction specified, or shall be a proportion of the required strength of the connected members when so specified herein.
grfrazee
- 3,597
- 1
- 18
- 33