A comprehensive method for evaluating compressive strength and buckling behavior of corner gusset plates with various shapes

This study proposes a novel method for calculating the compressive strength of corner gusset plates to address the limitations of traditional design equations based on the Whitmore effective width and the traditional column buckling theory. A series of experiments and finite element analyses on gusset plates with various shapes and boundary conditions induced by welding connections with adjacent structural members were conducted. These investigations focused on understanding the stress and strain distributions and buckling shapes at the maximum compressive strengths of corner gusset plates of interest. Based on the findings, a new design equation was developed from the traditional mechanics for buckling behavior, the geometries, and the expected stress distributions of gusset plates. Comparison with the existing methods demonstrates that the proposed design equation offers improved accuracy regardless of shapes of gusset plates and boundary conditions resulting from their adjacent connections.