A fillet weld is the most common weld type in steel building construction.

According to EN 1993?1?8, 4.3.2.1 (1) [1], fillet welds may be used for connecting
structural parts where the fusion faces form an angle between 60�� and 120��.

The effective throat thickness a of a fillet weld should be taken as the height of
the largest triangle (with equal or unequal legs) that can be inscribed within the
fusion faces and the weld surface, measured perpendicular to the outer side of this
triangle, see Figure 01.

Figure 01 - Throat Thickness a of Fillet Weld (a) and Deep Penetration Fillet Weld
(b)

Design Resistance of Fillet Welds

According to EN 1993?1?8 [1], the design resistance of a fillet weld is usually
determined using Directional Method or Simplified Method. The Directional Method is
described below.

A uniform distribution of stress is assumed on the throat section of the weld,

leading to the normal stresses and shear stresses shown in Figure 02, as follows:

�ҡ� is the normal stress perpendicular to the throat

��|| is the normal stress parallel to the axis of the weld
�ӡ� is the shear stress (in the plane of the throat) perpendicular to the axis of
the weld
��|| is the shear stress (in the plane of the throat) parallel to the axis of th