I frequently see the reference in RAM Connection Calcs to:
Dowswell, B., 2003, Connection Design for Steel Structures, Structural Design Solutions, LLC
I have not been able to find this document anywhere which presents a rather large issue when interpreting the RAM Connection Results. Could you please provide a location to buy/access this reference? If it is no longer available for purchase, I would recommend finding a new reference for these calculations, if possible, or providing additional background on the calculations using this reference.
Bentley,
Do you have a resolution to this issue yet? Jason's answer is informative, but appears to be a check on the moment capacity of the plates, not the limit state reported in your output: "Shear yielding due to welds". Currently, I'm designing the flange plates on the connection of a W24x76 beam plugging into the web of a W12x72 column with a moment of about 500 k-ft. KB is encountering the same issue with an HSS connection.
Here's the email address that I reached Mr. Dowswell at: bo@sdsresources.com or maybe dowswell@uab.edu He eventually ended up sending me a dropbox link to his whole presentation/unpublished book. I think it's ridiculous that Bentley/RAM continues to used unpublished information as a reference.
Can you please share Mr. Dowswell's notes. I didn't get any response through mentioned email address. Thanks in advance.