COMPUTERS AND STRUCTURES, INC.

, JULY 2009
TUBULAR STEEL FRAME PUNCHING LOAD CHECK
TECHNICAL NOTE
PUNCHING LOAD ASSIGNMENTS
This Technical Note describes the punching load assignments that are viewed
and modified using the Design menu > Steel Frame Design > Punching
Load Joint Assigns command. This command is available only when the
steel design code is set to API RP2A-WSD2000, API RP2A-LRFD 97, or Norsok
N-004-2004.

Assignments to Multiple Joints

Select more than one joint and click the Design menu > Steel Frame
Design > Punching Load Joint Assigns command to bring up the Punching
Load Assignments form shown in Figure 1. The Joint Name is displayed as
Multiple Joints Selected, indicating that multiple joints are selected.

The Punching Load Check area of the form has a Do NOT check this joint
check box. If this check box is checked and the OK button is clicked, all of the
selected joints will be flagged to be skipped when the punching load check is
performed.

The Do NOT check this joint flag is the only punching load assignment that
can be viewed or modified for more than one joint at the same time. All other
punching load assignments must be viewed or modified for a single joint at a
time. (Note that when you use the database editing features of the program,
it is possible to modify all punching load assignments for all joints at the same
time.)

Figure 1: Punching Load Assignments form with multiple joints selected

Assignments to Multiple Joints Page 1 of 4

Tubular Steel Frame Punching Load Check Punching Load Assignments

Assignments to a Single Joint

Select a single joint and click the Design menu > Steel Frame Design >
Punching Load Joint Assigns command to bring up the Punching Load
Assignments form shown in Figure 2. The selected joint name and all
punching load assignments for the joint are displayed.

The Punching Load Check area of the form has a Do NOT check this joint
check box. If this check box is checked, the joint will be skipped when the
punching load check is performed.

Figure 2: Punching Load Assignments form with a single joint selected

Assignments to a Single Joint Page 2 of 4

Tubular Steel Frame Punching Load Check Punching Load Assignments

Punching Load Check Status

The Current Punching Load Check Status for this Joint area of the Punching
Load Assignments form (see Figure 2) indicates if the program will check the
joint. Typically, if the program will not check the joint, the reason for not
checking is displayed in this area.

The most common reason that a joint will not be checked is if it is framing
into members other than pipe sections.

Joint Check Parameters

The Joint Check Parameters area of the Punching Load Assignments form (see
Figure 2) lists the punching load assignments for the selected joint. The steel
design code (API RP2A-WSD2000, API RP2A-LRFD 97, or Norsok N-004-2004)
selected in the steel design preferences determines the availability of some
parameters (for example, Phi factors and Vwa). Also, selection of the API
RP2A-WSD2000 code and the punching load method in the steel preferences
determines the availability of the Qq and Qu factors.

When you click on an item in the Joint Check Parameters area, a description
of that item appears in the Item Description area.

The items in the Joint Check Parameters area are color-coded blue, black or
red. The meaning of each color code is defined in the Explanation of Color
Coding for Values area of the form.

The first column in the Joint Check Parameters area lists the punching load
assignment items. The other columns list the assignments for each of the line
objects (frame members) that are connected to the joint. All of the data for a
single line object is contained in a single column in the table. The line object
name is given in the second row of the table.

Depending on the Type and Class specified for a particular line object, some
of the punching load assignment items associated with the line object are
inactive. When the Type for the line object is Chord, only the Active, Section,
and Type items are active. All other items are inactive (blank with a gray
background).

When the Type for the line object is Brace, the Gap item is inactive, except
when the Class item is set to K Gap. Also, when the Type for the line object is
Brace, the items associated with overlapping joints are inactive, except when

Assignments to a Single Joint Page 3 of 4

Tubular Steel Frame Punching Load Check Punching Load Assignments

the Class item is set to K Overlap. The items associated with overlapping
joints are L2, L1 / L, and Weld Thick, Vwa, and PhiWeld and apply only to the
API codes. (Note that Vwa is applicable only when the steel design code is API
RP2A-WSD2000 and PhiWeld is applicable only when the steel design code is
API RP2A-LRFD 97.)

If the Type and Angle items are not user defined, they are automatically
calculated by the program, and they are automatically updated every time a
change is made to the punching load assignments. Thus, in some cases,
changing a single item in the Joint Check Parameters area may cause other
items to change as the program automatically recalculates the Type and
Angle items.

Set to Default or Previous Values

The Set To Default or Previous Values area of the Punching Load Assignments
form (see Figure 2) contains several options and two buttons. The options
allow you to indicate which items are to be set. The choices are the selected
items, the selected column, the selected row, or all items. Clicking one of the
buttons sets the values.

The Set to Default Values button sets the items to their program default
values. The Set to Previous Values button sets the items to the values they
had when the form was opened.

Assignments to a Single Joint Page 4 of 4