ABSTRACT
A research program was undertaken to study the shear-lag phenomenon for slotted HSS tension members having gusset plates welded at the ends, a commonly employed detail in braced frame construction. The purpose of this study was to establish whether the shear-lag reduction factor indeed involves only the weld length to weld distance ratio, Lw/w or if other parameters also influence connection strength and behaviour. These include the aspect ratio bo/do and the slenderness ratio bo/to.
