| Gusset plates are used in steel buildings to connect bracing members to other structural members in the lateral force resisting system. Horizontal bracing is commonly used to resist lateral loads in industrial structures and in commercial buildings where floor and roof diaphragms cannot carry the loads. Wrap-around gusset plates are L-shaped plates that are used where an opening is required at the corner of the plate. This typically occurs at horizontal bracing where the gusset plate is cut out around a column.; The purposes of this research were to gain a better understanding of the behavior of wrap-around gusset plates, identify potential failure modes, and formulate a design method for these connections. Ten experimental specimens were tested in compression and five were tested in tension. All of the specimens were modeled using the finite element method with material and geometric nonlinearities.; The experiments and finite element models indicated that wrap-around gusset plates are subject to limit states common to flexural members. The results were used to formulate a design method for wrap-around gusset plates, which is based on a cantilever beam model. The accuracy of the proposed design method was verified by comparing the calculated capacities to experimental and finite element results. The accuracy of the proposed method is similar to that of the current design procedure for standard gusset plates without cutouts. |
