Block shear strength of double-lap welded connections in mild carbon steel plate

Abstract

This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations related to the block shear mechanism of double-lap welded connections. The experiment investigation includes 36 specimens composed of 3.0 mm and 6.0 mm thick mild carbon steel SS275 plates with varying block lengths and widths. It is found that the tension fracture in block shear of welded connection tends to be curved along the critical plane. The numerical results shows that the stress triaxiality efect in increasing the tensile stress over the critical tension plane, and thus the tension resistance component increases. This paper also examines the accuracy of various block shear strength equations given in the design codes as well as the literature. Topkaya’s equation is found to be signifcantly more accurate than other block shear strength equations for the tested specimens. Nonetheless, it is recommended to use the reduced tensile coefcient to ensure both safe margin and the accuracy.