Weld Design Calculator, AISC 360-16

What it checks

The module designs fillet welds by evaluating electrode strength on the effective throat and the base-metal shear rupture limit. It supports both LRFD and ASD design methods, with LRFD as the default when no method is specified. The check sequence applies the directional increase factor for the load angle, calculates the nominal strength using the electrode classification, and compares the resulting capacity against the applied factored load.

Inputs

Geometry - Weld leg size in sixteenths of an inch, weld length per line in inches, and the number of parallel weld lines.
Loading - Applied factored load in kips and the load angle to the weld axis in degrees, where 0 is parallel and 90 is transverse.
Materials - Electrode classification key (E60, E70, E80, or E90) and base metal key (A36, A572_50, A500B, A53B, or custom).
Custom Properties - Base metal tensile strength in ksi when the base metal key is set to custom.
Thickness - Thickness of the thinner connected part in inches, which determines the minimum fillet size and the default rupture area.

What it reports

Electrode Strength - The nominal strength based on the electrode classification Fexx and the effective throat, adjusted for the directional factor.
Base Metal Rupture - The shear rupture capacity of the base metal, calculated using the thickness of the sheared part and the base metal tensile strength Fu.
Design Capacity - The final capacity value, which is the nominal strength multiplied by the resistance factor for LRFD or divided by the safety factor for ASD.
Utilization - The ratio of the applied factored load to the design capacity, indicating whether the weld is adequate.
Reference Rows - Nine reference rows showing weld-only capacity at theta = 0 and 90 degrees on a standard A36 / t = 1 in / Pu = 0 basis.
Size Window - The minimum and maximum allowable fillet sizes based on the thickness of the connected parts and the J2.2b maximum-size step.

Code references

The engine cites AISC 360-16 §J2 — Eq. J2-4 / J2-5 / §J4 base metal. It specifically applies AISC 360-16 §J2.4 for fillet weld strength and §J4.2 for base metal shear rupture. The directional increase follows Eq. J2-5, and the resistance and safety factors are taken from AISC 360 Table J2.5.

Limits

The module assumes equal-leg fillet welds, as the throat formula relies on the input shape to ensure this condition. It does not handle unequal fillet welds. The base metal rupture check defaults to the thinner part for the sheared area. Results are engineering aids; the engineer of record is responsible for the design.

This module ships in the desktop app

StructuralClaw for Windows is in active build and not yet downloadable. Join the beta list and we will send one email when it ships.

Join the beta list