Metric and Imperial Units

The above welding stress equations may be used with both imperial and metric units. As with all mathematical calculations care must be taken to keep consistent units throughout. Examples of units which could be adopted have been provided below:

Notation

• b = plate thickness, in or mm
• h = weld width, in or mm
• l = length of welds, in or mm
• L = length of lever arm, in or mm
• P = total applied force, kip or kN
• σ = stress in weld, psi or MPa
• τ_a = shear stress, psi or MPa