A Study on Design Thickness of Corner Gusset Plates in Steel Braced Frames for Tension

The gusset plates in steel buildings and bridges play vital role in transfer forces and maintaining the overall structural integrity, but are relatively overlooked in design. In this study, a typical case of corner gusset plate welded to the beam-column joint and connected to the tension brace by single row of two and three bolts is considered. A simple 2-D model of corner gusset plate is developed to perform geometric and material nonlinear analysis for various load ranges and brace angles, with the help of ANSYS—a commercial finite element software. The minimum thickness of the gusset plate required to prevent rupture for each case is noted. The required thickness of gusset plates as per Whitmore’s theory, Indian (IS 800:2007), European (EN 1993-1-1: EC3) and American (ANSI/AISC 360-16) standards are also calculated. In comparison, significant difference in the required thickness of gusset plates as per finite element analysis and the considered codal provisions is observed. The maximum thicknesses obtained is specified as the design thickness for each case, which may serve as a guide or design aid for structural engineers.