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Students: Rohan Madathanapalli

5749921

Ken Yueh-Ing Tchung

5707714

 Supervisor: Ass. Prof(Emad Gad

 ii

)*c!!

Include abstract of around 400 words

 iii

(+,!

The Authors of this report would like to acknowledge Associate Professor Emad Gad of
Swinburne University of Technology for his effort and contribution in guiding,
mentoring and directing the authors. The Authors would also like to acknowledge Mahir
Ibtahim for his previous work on developing spreadsheet tool that can perform design
checks on bolted endplate to column moment connections.
 iv

Ö

We hereby declare that:

@? this thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award to the
candidate of any other degree or diploma, except where due reference is made in
the text of the examinable outcome;

@? to the best of the candidate¶s knowledge contains no material previously

published or written by another person except where due reference is made in
the text of the examinable outcome; and

@? where the work is based on joint research or publications, discloses the relative
contributions of the respective workers or authors.

Name: Rohan Madathanapalli

Name: Ken Yueh-Ing Tchung

Date: 10/04/2010
 v



1.? Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ........11?

1.1? Bolting and welding connections ................................ ................................ ...11?
1.2? Aim and Objective ................................ ................................ ......................... 11?
2.? Bolted End Plate Moment Connection ................................ ................................ 13?
2.1? Failure Modes ................................ ................................ ................................ 13?
2.1.1? Failure of the end plate ................................ ................................ ...........13?
2.1.2? Failure of the bolt ................................ ................................ ...................15?
2.1.3? Failure of the column ................................ ................................ ..............15?
2.1.4? Failure of the Beam ................................ ................................ ................16?
3.? Connection design Software ................................ ................................ ...............17?
3.1? Limcon ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........17?
3.2? CoP ± The connection Program ................................ ................................ .....21?
4.? Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Work ................................ ........27?
5.? References ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........28?

 vi

( 

( )#( Appendix 1 ................................ ......... -+!+(

( )$( Appendix 2 ................................ ......... -+!+(

 vii



Figure 1. Screen Shot of CoP: User friendly input screen. ................................ ............22

Figure 2. Screen shot of CoP: Error and Warning messages. ................................ ........23

Figure 3. Screen shot of CoP: results section. ................................ ............................... 24

Figure 4: Imported data to StuCad 3D and StuCad output detail drawing. .................... 25

Figure 5. Simple connection: Connection by header plate to beam web.-+!+(

Figure 6. Simple connection: connection by double web cleat to beam web.-+!+

Figure 7. Simple connection by fin plates to beam web. .-+!+(

Figure 8. Welded connections ................................ ........ -+!+(

Figure 9. Extended endplate connection. ........................ -+!+(

Figure 10. Flush endplate connection. ............................ -+!+(

Figure 11. Additional components ................................ ................................ ...............26

 viii

.

Table 1 Table Caption ± below table .............................. -+!+(

 ix

!

X
 
 


 

 
 

X
= Nominal local capacity of column flange at beam tension flange

X
= Nominal moment capacity of the end plate

X  = Design bending moment at connection

X   = Design bending axial moment

  = Number of bolts in pairs.

  
 
 


 
! 

  " = Total design force in the compression flange of beam at end plate

  "  #
 


 
 


 
! 

  "
= Total design force in the tension flange of beam at end plate

  "
  #
 


 
 


 
! 

$  = Nominal shear capacity of column web

$  = Nominal buckling capacity of column web

$ 
= Nominal local yielding capacity of column web at beam tension flange

$ % = Nominal crippling capacity at beam compression flange

& = Nominal shear capacity of column web

& = Nominal shear capacity of bolts

&'
= Nominal shear yielding capacity of extended portion of endplate in tension

&( = Nominal shear rupture capacity of extended portion of endplate in tension

& = Nominal shear capacity of web weld on beam in compression side

 x

&
= Nominal shear capacity of web weld on beam in tension side

&   = Design shear capacity of column web

&  "
 #

 


 
 

& ) = Design shear force

*  +

2 Section Title 11

#(?


Connection is a very important part of any structure and therefore is designed more
conservatively than the design of members. The reason for this is because the behaviour
of connections is more difficult to analyse- the differences in actual behaviour and
analysis is significant. It is more desirable for failure to occur on the individual member
than the connection as the connection has the potential to affect other members (Kumar
S and Satishkumar S n.d).

There are many types of connections used in the construction of any structures, which
can be grouped into 2 main categories. The first category of connection is the simply
shear connection which includes web site plate, angle cleat, bolted angle seat, welded
angle seat and bearing pad. The second category of connection is the moment
connection, these include welded beam to column connection, bolted moment end plate
connection, flush moment end plate connection, extended moment end plate connection,
welded flange plate and bolted flange plate. Steel connections can be either welded or
bolted together.

#(#? ,

The two main form of welding is butt weld where a weld is made in a gap between 2
steel members that is being jointed and the other is fillet weld where weld is applied at
the joints such the surfaces of steel members are at roughly right angle to each other.
The quality of the weld should be of either SP or GP as per AS/NZS 1554.1(Australian
Standard 1998). According to Australian Standard there are 4 bolting categories, these
are names 4.6/S, 8.8/S, 8.8/TB and 8.8/TF. The categories of the bolts depend on the
method of tensioning. Bolted end plate connections are used widely in the modern
construction industry as it is less labour intensive and welds has the potential of causing
secondary crack if it is not carried out appropriately.

#($? (!./*

Our aim of this project is to develop a design aid for bolted end plate moment
connection using excel spreadsheet and validating it.

To satisfy our aim the following objectives are to be fulfilled:

2 Section Title 12

c? A literature review of failure modes of bolted end plate moment connection

c? A review of existing commercially available software that can perform bolted
end plate moment designs checks.
c? Development of excel spreadsheet that can perform following tasks
v? Able to automate design calculations
v? Able to give warnings/feedback when design criteria don¶t
comply
v? Able to hyperlink to user guide via Help button
v? Ability to print scale drawings with the required details
shown
v? Ability to generate design tables for the specified connection
2 Section Title 13

$(?  "! 

Bolted end plate moment connection is produced at shops by welding the endplate to I
beam. Complete joint penetration weld is normally used to weld the end plate onto the
flange of the beam and then the web of the beam is normally fillet welded onto the end
plate (USA.gov 2010). Depending on the adequately of the design, beam can be
stiffened using a vertical fin plate that is welded to the flanges of the beam. Sometimes
Columns are welded with backing plates, web plate to increase its capacity more
economically, as opposed to using a larger and more expensive column. Another way of
strengthening the connection is by welding a haunch to the compressive side of the
beam. All these strengthening are to ensure failure at the connection does not occur.

$(#? "

In end plate bolted moment connection there are several design checks required to
ensure that the connections does not fail due to the applied forces and moments. The
types of failure modes include flexural yielding of the section, flexural yielding of the
end plates, yielding of the column panel zone, tension failure of the end plate bolts,
shear failure of the end plate bolts and failure of the welded joints (USA.gov 2010).
Some of these failure modes exhibit brittle behaviour that can lead to almost instant
catastrophic failure. Design check provided by Australian Steel Institute: Connection
design guide 12 is used to check the adequacy of the design to take the applied load and
moment. The design guide is based on the American Institute of Steel Construction
Steel Design Guide 4 with reference to Australian Standard ± AS4100 (Hogan T 2009).

$(#(#? 0 

One of the failure modes of the end plate is due to the bolts prying action. According to
the ASI Design guide 12 Rigid connections the design model used is called a ³thick end
plate´ has been adopted, therefore the thickness of the end plate should be sufficient
enough to resist the tension force due to the bending moment. Alternatively in the ³Thin
end plate´ model the bolts prying forces will occur, therefore reducing the capacity of
the bolts in tension due to the bending moment and yielding of the end plate. According
to the design guide 12 the use of thin end plate model will generally reduce the
thickness of the plate by one size and increase bolt diameter by one size. The diagram
2 Secti Title 14

bel ill t tes t e t ee st es of t e end pl te behaviour; this anal sis is explained by

a split tee analogy.

à   1 2 34

At preli inary stage where the force is at lowest the end plate is behaving li e a ³thick
end plate´. In the second stage as the tension force is increased two plastic hinges are
formed at the centreline of the end plate therefore prying forces develop. Two more
plastic hinges are forms in stage 3 where tension force is at maximum and the prying
force is at maximum ( N *ft + Q*  this is when end plate starts behaving like a ³thin end

plate´. Based on the adopted model ³thick end plate´ Design check NO.6 from the
Design guide 12 implies ³Design capacity of end plate at tension flange requires design
moment capacity of the end plate be 1.11 (= 1.0/0.9 times the design moment capacity
of the bolt group. The plate is hence thicker than it otherwise might be for a 'thin end
plate' model. The design capacity of the end plate is based on a yield line analysis on the
basis that it will eventually yield but not before the bolts have failed´(Hogan T 2009.
-? àailure of endplate in tension flange; design must comply with:

*
, - -- .*
/

-?
2 Section Title 15

The other possible failure mode of end plate it failure due to shearing of end plate.

-? àailure due to shear yielding of extended portion of end plate at tension,

design must comply with:


* ' , "
0

-? àailure due to shear rupture of extended portion of end plate at tension,

design must comply with:

* , 
"
0

=
=? à 

There are two types of failure mode that occurs in bolt. The first of this type is the
hearing of the bolts and the other one is failure in tension of the bolts.

-? Shearing of the bolt(s: Shearing of the holes occurs at the thread portion
of the bolts, when bolt(s is subjected to design shear force of the design should satisfy:

ð ) 1 *ð

à =  

25  
 4

-? Tension of the bolt(s: bolts subjected to tension force, design must

satisfy the following criteria:

  
*

, 2  

=
? à 
 

The failure of the column can take many forms; failure of column can be due to bending
of column flange, yielding of column web at both the beam tension and compression
flange, crippling of column web, buckling of column web and shearing of column web.
2 Section Title 16

-?Failure due to local bending of column flange at beam tension flange, design
must comply with:

*X


.*X
/

-? Failure due to local yielding of column web at beam tension flange,

design must comply with:

*$ 

  "

-? Failure due to local yielding of column web at beam compression flange,

design comply with:

*$ %
  "

-? Failure due to column web crippling at beam compression flange; design

must comply with:

*$ 
  "

-? Failure due to column web compression buckling; design must comply with:

*$ 
  "

-? Failure due to column web in shear; design must comply with:

*&
&  

$(#(6? 0!

There are two forms of failure of the beam and these are related to the welding of the
flange and the welding of the web.

-? Failure of the flange welds to beam, design must comply with:

* 3   "


  " ,, where:

-? Failure of the web welds to beam, design must comply with:

*& &  )

*&
  
,
2 Section Title 17

? ÷ 
  


There are several steel connections or joints programs that are readily available. The one
that is currently used in Australia is LIMCON which complies with the Australian
Standard. The other program that is commercially available is CoP, which is used in
Europe as it complies with the EuroCode3 and DIN18800 standard. Both of these
programs are discussed in the preceding sections.


?  

Limcon V3.5 is a powerful design software for structural steel connections. It was
(Engineering System 2009 ³first appeared in 1992 as a dos program, companion tothe
Australian steel institute (ASI publication Design of structural connection- 4 edition´.
Limcon V3.5 supports the Australian code (AS4100-1990, and various international
codes including the American code (AISC 360, Canadian code (CSA S16 British code
(BS 5950 Europe code (EC3 and New Zealand code (NZS 3404. Limcon V3.5
undertakes design checks of many types of connections including bolts and weld groups
based on the Australian Steel Institute (ASI Connection Design Guide first edition.
Limcon V3.5 supports SI units and US units

à  1  
 2   
=34
2 Section Title 18

In addition to the previous version of Limcon new features are added to Limcon V3.5
including virtual reality view and intergraded detailing with DXà. Hollow section and
other connections were also added. Virtual reality view (VR enables the user to take a
3D tour of the connection and visually check input data. Another important feature
Limcon V3.5 comprises is intergraded detailing with DXà, by clicking the DXà in a
connection dialog box creates an Auto CAD DXà of the current connection, this enable
the user to continue detailing the connection.

à    

     
 ÷ à 
 
    1 

2   
=34 

àor each connection type the dialog box shows the connection name on top and the
diagram below with the detailing. The input parameters (Member, Plates, Bolts, Welds
and design loads are logically grouped and displayed on the right side. At the bottom is
the output window this displays the recent checks that have been done. The section
properties of all steel sections are available from the library of the software. Several
numbers of libraries are available depending on the origin of the section, including
Australia, US, UK, Japan and New Zealand.
2 Section Title 19

à!"2   

=34

Limcon V3.5 window is multi cell window therefore allowing the designer to view all
the connections of a particular job in miniature thumbnails. Limcon V3.5 is very user
friendly and very easy to use with many advance windows features such as HTML help,
pop-up, tooltips and data tips and offers professional support.

à#  !$ 2   

=34

Limcon V3.5 is a powerful design aid for a range of steel connections its main features
are, checking with Australian code, us code, Canada code, Europe and NZ code. Its
window is a multi cell window to view all connections for a particular job. The units
2 Section Title 20

can be changed to SI or US units, the connection detail can be output to an Auto cad
DXà. The view of the connection and be changed to 3D view were the input parameters
can be visually checked. The dialog box is logically grouped making it user friendly and
very easy to use given that there are plenty of different functions.



?  % !

Limcon Demo v3.5 can be obtained freely from their official website (http://www.steel-
connections.com/ by registering personal details such as name address and phone
number. When starting up the demo, user will firstly need to select the types of
connection that the user wants to design and analyse. In the author¶s case, moment end
plate connection was selected. This bring a new window show in figure 5, this window
requires the user to input parameters such as the arrangement of the end plates, the
structural members that is going to be connected, the end plate dimension and grade,
bolts detail, the types of stiffeners and location of it, and last but not least is the design
loads. At this window it will give a simplified drawing of the connection showing the
dimensions, spacing and grades and with click of the µkey diagram¶ button the drawing
change to a more detailed drawing showing 2 different view, see diagram below.

à&
  
 
 2   
=34 
2 Section Title 21

As shown in the diagram above, the results section is in the bottom half of the main
window. There are 5 buttons on top of the results that help the user quickly navigate
through the report. The top button navigate to the top of the result page, the bottom
buton navigate to the end of the result page, the fail button navigate to sections that
failed and did not comply with the design guide, the critical button navigate to the
critical failure type and the last button is the error button which navigate the user to the
sections of the report that contains error. When the design is completed users can select
print to print the result; or can select DXF to export the file in the form of DFX file, this
can be imported to softwares such as AutoCad Civil 3D or DFX viewing software. At
Any time the user can use the 3D view button to view the connection in 3D.

å($?  7 0 !

Connection program (CoP) is a software for connection design with regards to

component method where it analysis each connection components. The software design
is based on the design rules given in the Eurocode 3 and DIN 18800 standards. CoP was
developed in a joint venture effort of University of Aachen and University of Liege in
Belgium. CoP has been designed using the latest programming techniques as a result the
program is user-friendly that operates on Microsoft operating system and it guarantees
that it is error free (Software CoP n.d).

The program allow joints to be modified from unreinforced to reinforced, stiffened or

optimised in accordance to the users liking. By allowing modification at the joint the
user can work out what layout and design of the connection that gives the most
economical and structurally sound outcome.

The main highlights of the programs are:

-? User friendly input windows. The program is setup up in such a way that the
user can easily understand. Each user defined parameter is well guided with
subheading and there are also 2 sectional views of the selected connection type
2 Section Title 22

to help user understand what is required for certain user input parameter. 2
different diagrams are shown in the main screen to help the user picture the
required parameters on the head.

à'  

 ÷ (   1
 2
÷  4 

-? Warning and error messages are displayed when the user inputs does not comply
with the standards. The warning and the error message also makes
recommendation and gives reasons to why the error has occurred.
2 Section Title 23

à3  
 ÷  $  2
÷  4 

-? Results from the program can be readily available on screen or could be easily
printed out. The output gives a summary of the connection in terms of its design
procedure, resistance, stiffness, classification of the connection and type of
failure.
2 Section Title 24

à
  
 ÷ 

 2
÷  4 

-? The program have muti-language setting, the user can change from English to
German, àrench, Portuguese, Hungarian and Ductch.

-? Training on this program is not necessarily required as it is very easy to use.

-? Can be integrated into other software packages with the Interface to StruCad 3D
steel detailing package that is available as add on. StruCad 3D is an equivalent
software to AutoCad Civil 3D. It can output 3 dimensional drawing and also
detailed 2 dimensional drawings showing all the specification and dimension to
scale.
2 Section Title 25

à

)1




÷2
÷  4 

à
=
÷
1

 2
÷  4 

CoP is designed for 2 main groups of joint connections. The 1st group is the simple
connection joints such as:

-? Connection by header plate to column flange, column web or beam web.

-? Connection by double web cleats to column flange, column web or beam web.

-? Connection by fin plates to column flange, column web or beam web.

2 Section Title 26

-? Notching.

The 2nd group is the continuous and semi-continuous joints such as

-? Welded connections.

-? Extended endplate connection

-? àlush endplate connection

-? Additional components such as column stiffeners, buckling plates, web plates

and haunch in compression.

à
 
 1 
2
÷  4

CoP is a powerful connection design program that enable numerous connections types
to be computated and analysed based on the design rules given in the Eurocode3 and
DIN18800 standard. It is visually appealing, very user friendly with built in error and
warning messages when the user input parameters don¶t comply with the standards or
when the design is inadequate to take the applied force and it can be integrated into
other programs such as StruCad 3D, which is the equivalent of AutoCad Civil 3D.
7 Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Work 27

6(? !!0 +

Connection is a vital part of any structures and therefore should be design to cater all
types of failure mode. A typical connection has 3 main elements to it which are weld
design, endplate design and bolts design. In bolted endplate moment connection many
different failure modes can occur and to eliminate any failure in the connection design
checks for all failure modes are required. This design checks are done in accordance to
Connection Design Check Guide 12: Bolted Endplate to Column Moment Connections
and Australian Standard: AS4100. The failure of connection can occur in the beam,
column, bolt or endplate. The types of failure modes include flexural yielding of the
section, flexural yielding of the end plates, yielding of the column panel zone, tension
failure of the end plate bolts, shear failure of the end plate bolts and failure of the
welded joints. Software such as Limcon and CoP can be used to check the design of
most types of connections. Both of these programs are excellent tools and are generally
easy for beginners to use and provide helpful feedback and warning should a design not
comply with the standards. Both of these program can provide useful output that can be
integrated with other softwares such as StrutCad 3D for CoP and AutoCad 3D for
Limcon. Although both of these softwares are commercially available, it is unfortunate
that a demo version of CoP cannot be obtained freely.

Further work can be done on CoP to incorporate other country¶s standards so that it can
be universally used around the world. Both CoP and Limcon can improve their output
files by being able to integrate to other engineering software packages such as micro-
station, not restricted to DFX file or StutCad file only. Both these software can be
improved by incorporating a cost modal to assess the economic net present values of the
projects undertaken.
Appendix 2 Appendix 2 28

&(? 

American Institute of Steel Construction 2005, Specification of Structural Steel

Buildings, (AISC 360), American Institute of Steel Construction, America.

Australian Standard 1998, AS4100- Steel Structures, Standard Australia, Australia.

Australian/New Zealand Standard 2004, AS/NZS 1554.1: Structural Steel Welding -Part
1: Welding of Steel Structures, Australian/New Zealand Standard 2004,
Standards Australia, Australia.

British Standards 2000, Structural use of steelwork in building. Code of practice for
design. Rolled and welded sections, (BS 5950), British Standards, Britain.

Canadian Standards Association 2009, Design of Steel Structures, (CSA S16), Canadian
Standars Association, Canada.

DIN 18 800 1990, Stahlbauten, Bemessung und Konstruktion (structural steelwork,

design and construction), Germany.

EN 1993, Eurocode 3: Design of Steel Structures, European Committee for

Standardisation (CEN), Brussels.

Engineering System 2009, Limcon V3 - User Manual, Engineering System Pty Ltd,
NSW, Australia, viewed 7 April 2010.
<www.steel-connections.com>.

Hogan T 2009, The Connection Design Guide 12- Rigid Connections: Bolted End Plate
to Column Moment Connections, Australian Steel Institute, Australia.

Kumar S and Satishkumar S n.d., Design of steel structures 1, NPTEL, viewed 7 April
2010.
< http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/IIT-MADRAS/Design_Steel_Structures_I/>.
Appendix 2 Appendix 2 29

Software CoP n.d., The Connection Program, viewed 6 April 2010.

<http://www.connectionprogram.com/cop_english.html>.

USA.gov 2010, Chapter 3: Connection Qualification, National Earthquake Hazards

Reduction Program, Viewed 7 April 2010.
< http://www.nehrp.gov/pdf/fema350_3-48.pdf> .