Structural Steelwork Connections Graham W. Owens ssc(Eng) PhD DIC CEng MICE MWeldi Brian D. Cheal sse(éng) ceng MICE MWeldl Butterworths London Boston Singapore Sydney Toronto Wellington& rvarorneenwrenvmnst eve All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (including photocopying and recording) without the writen permission of the copyright holder except in accordance with the provisions ofthe ‘Copyright Act 1956 (2s amended) or under the terms ofa licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Lid, 33-34 Alfred Place, London, WCIE 7DP England. The written permission of the copyright holder must also be obtained before any part of this publication is stored ina retrieval system of any nature, Applications for the copyright holder's written permission to reproduce. transmit or store ina retrieval system any part of this publication should be addressed to the Publishers. ‘Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation toa copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution, ‘This book is sold subject to the Standard Conditions of Sale of Net Books and may not be re-sold in the UK below the net price given by the Publishers in their current price list First published 1989) © Butterworth & Co. (Publishers) Ltd, 1989 ——————————— British Library Cataloguing in Publication Dat ‘Owens, Graham W. Structural steelwork connections. 1. Steel structures. Structural connections. Design 1, Title 11, Cheal, Brian 628.1°H2 ISBN 0-408-01214-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ‘Owens, Graham, BscENG. Structural steciwork connections / Graham W. Owens, Brian Cheal 30 p.24.6em, Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 0-408-01214-5: 1. Building, Iron and steel Joints. 2. Steel, Structural.”"1.Cheal, Brian. Title. IML. Title: Structural steel work connections. TAGS.004 1989) 624,1'821 -del9 88-39116 ‘Typeset by Activity Ltd, Salisbury, Wilts Printed and bound in Great Britain by Courier International Ltd, Tiptree, EssexPreface This book provides a rational and up-to-date guide for the design of structural steelwork connections, combining scientific principles with practical ap- plication in a single volume. It concentrates on two themes. Firstly, having established an appropriate simple method of analysis, it insists on the consideration of all the components within the connection. Thus all the elements of each load path are checked, thereby ensuring that there can be no weak links anywhere in the connection. Secondly, it gives the background principles and reasons behind all the design checks that are put forward. Only if designers understand the underlying reasons can they apply design rules with confidence and safety. ‘An introductory chapter develops and discusses an overall philosophy for connection design, illus- trating its application by some simple examples. Chapters 2 to 9 provide the background information necessary for informed design, covering welding, bolts, and bolting, weld behaviour, bolt behaviour, fatigue resistance of connections, other components within the connection, analysis and practicalities of construction. In all’ cases research and other information has been summarised and presented in a form that is of greatest use to the designer. Chapters 10 to 16 give general descriptions of the most commonly occurring types of connection and detailed design examples that demonstrate the application of the overall design approach and the detailed information in the earlier part of the book. Mach of the material here had its origins in the connections course which forms part of the MSc in Structural Stee! Design at Imperial College. It has been refined by exposure to ten generations of post-graduate students, who collectively have sever- al hundred years’ of design experience. It has drawn substantially on the working practices and experi- ence of W.S. Atkins and Partners, a leading firm of consultants with particular expertise in heavy steelwork. ‘The book does not list detailed design sequences for every kind of connection that commonly occurs. ‘That task requires a several volume text and is being addressed by the SCVBCSA Connections Group, on which the first author serves. However, the authors believe that this book, with its emphasis on the need for completeness in design and its presentation of the background reasons to design rules, is an important contribution to the development of improved detailed design methods for connections. They also believe it will be of considerable use to Practising connection designers as they strive to achieve simplicity, economy and safety. The princi- ples and general methods put forward should enable a designer to tackle any connection, irrespective of scale and complexity, with confidence and safety. Graham W. Owens Brian D. ChealContents Preface ii Introduction: a rational basis for connection design 1 1.1 Engineering uncertainty 1 1.2 Uncertainties and complexities of practical connection behaviour 1 1.3 Shortcomings of traditional methods of analysis 5 1.4 Anappropriate design philosophy for connections 7 1.5 Application of the design philosophy 8 Basic welding technology 13, 21 Scope 13 2.2 Welding processes in structural enginecring 13 2.3. Welding fluxes and electrode classification 16 24 Weld preparations 17 25. Control of dist. 26 Preheating 19 27 Welddefects 19 2.8 Fitness for purpose and the specification of weld repairs 23 2.9. Weld inspection and non-destructive testing (NDT) 24 18 Bolts and bolting, rivets and riveting 27 3.1 Scope 27 Dowel bolts 27 HSFG bolts 30 Rivets 35 Holding-down and foundation bolts 35, Special fasteners 39 Bolt inspection and testing 40 Bolt and rivet holes 48 Bolt layout within the connection 41 Static behaviour and design of welds 43, 4.1 Buttwelds 43 42 Filletwelds 45 4.3 Secondary considerations in fillet weld design 50 Static behaviour and design of bolts and bolted connections 52 5.1 Introduction 52 Dowel bolt connections in shear 52 Tension connections 58 Bearing bolts under combined shear andtension 65 HSFG bolted connections in shear 66 HSFG bolts under external tension 73 HSFG bolted connections under combined shear and tension 74 Fatigue of connections 75, 6.1 Scope 75 62 Introduction 75 6.3 Fatigue behaviour 77 64 Design data 78 65 Design 85 6.6 Improvement and remedial techniques $7 5. 3. 5 Other components in the connection 89 7.1 Introduction 89 72 73 Local in-plane loading: effective and critical sections 93 7.4 Local insplane loading: 7.5. Local in-plane loadin assessment 96 7.6 Local in-plane loading: stiffener design 97 7.7 Local out-of-plane loading 99 Analysis 106 8.1 Introduction 106 8.2. Bolt groups subject to shear and moment in theieshear plane 106 8.3 Bolt groups subject to loading eccentric tothe shear plane 112 8.4 Weld groups subject to shear, moment and torsion 114 Worked examples 120vi Contents 9 Practical considerations for economic design 128 9.1 Introduction 128 9.2 Choice of method of connection 129 9.3 Access fot fabrication and assembly 131 9.4 Weld preparations 132 95 Holing 132 9.6 Plate and ection edge and end preparation 134 9.7 General guidance on economic fabrication 134 9.8 General guidance on economic erection 135 10 Beam and column splices 138 10.1 Introduction 138 10.2 Typesof beam splice 140 10.3 Column splices 143 Worked examples 145 " Fi 168 11.2 Pinned bases under axial load 168 11.3 Fixed bases under axial load and moment 170 11.4 Holding-down bolt design 171 11.5 Resistance toshear forces 172 11.6 Provision for adjustment 173 11.7 Holding-down bolt details 174 11.8 Foundation bolts 175, Worked examples 176 12 Beam-to-columa connections 186 12.1 Introduction 186 122 Simple connections 187 123 Semi-rigid connections 190 124 Rigid connections 190 Worked examples 196 13, Beam-to-beam connections 244 13.1 Grillage connections 244 13.2 Cross-girder/main girder connections 246 Worked examples 248 14 Portal frame connections 260 14.1 Introduction 260 1422 Eaves connections 261 143 Apex connections 265 14.4 Stability in portal frame connections 267 Worked examples. 268 15 Other industrial building connections 296 15.1 Column brackets 296 15.2 Built-up columns 298 15.3 Crane beam connections _ 299 154 Crane gantry end stops 301 16 Trussconnections 303 16.1 Introduction 303 16.2 Single-plane trusses 303 16.3 Double-plane trusses 306 16:4 Gusset plate design 307 16.5 Provision for local eccentricity 308 16.6 Partial connection 309 Worked examples 310 Index. 3261 Introduction: a rational basis for connection design 1.1 Engineering uncertainty Structural engineering can never be an exact science and design philosophies should recognize and accommodate this uncertainty. Even in a carefully controlled laboratory experiment, perfect correla- tion between behaviour and analysis will not be achieved. In a practical structure the divergence between behaviour and prediction is generally greater. In addition to environment, the degree of uncertainty also depends on the type of structure or structural element. ‘Thus in a laboratory experiment on a steel beam or column with well-defined boundary conditions and known material properties a research worker would feel disappointed if theoretical and ex- perimental deflections and strains did not agree to within 10%. Only in a situation of high imperfection sensitivity would greater divergence be acceptable. Even on complete structures, close agreement can still be achieved with care. In’a major experimental study of multispan bridge behaviour" the first author achieved agreement to within 12% for deflections and 20% for significant stresses. In a full-scale study of industrial building structures? agreements were within 16% on deflections and 11% on strength. 1.2 Uncertainties and complexities of practical connection behaviour Uncertainties in connection behaviour are frequent- ly much greater, even in the laboratory. In.a study of short end-plate beam/column connections’ measure- ments were taken of the prying forces that the design method predicted would develop between the end-plate and the face of the column, In one specimen no such forces developed ~ an error of 100%, This error was due to bad fit. In some tests on beam splices with high-strength friction-grip (HSFG) bolts and splice plates* the relative movements of the web plates to the web were carefully monitored. Figure 1.1 shows some results of this study as well as the positions of the two possible theoretical pairs of centres of rotation. These relative movements are not just of academic interest. As shown in Chapter 8, any analysis of 2 bolt group under eccentric loading has to assume a centre of rotation, either explicitly as in plastic design or implicitly as in elastic analysis. The position of this centre of rotation is function of the ‘eccentricity of loading. Clearly, the conventional design method for beam splices, which assumes that the web splice is subject to a shear force with a given eccentricity, cannot be modelling the true behavi of this connection, whichever method of anal used. In practice, there must be a complex interaction of moments and shears between flanges and web as differing parts of the connection reach their limiting capacity. ‘There are several reasons why connection be- haviour is more uncertain and more complex than that of other steel elements. Geometric imperfections and lacks of fit Alll steel components contain geometric imperfec- tions and lacks of fit but the differing degree of uncertainty between elements and connections is mirrored in their varying degree of imperfection. ‘The significant imperfection in a beam or column is, a bow of twist with a maximum permitted amplitude of length/1000. This should be contrasted with the lack of fit permitted in a bolted connection using2 Introduction: a rational basis for connection design 199, Theoretical positions of ' fentres of rotation ail EA. Elastic analysis ae PAA. Plastic analysis 7 black bolts in clearance holes that is illustrated in Figure 1.2. In the former case the imperfection will produce a secondary system of bending stresses which may, in extreme circumstances, attain values of the same order as the average stress. (These are, of course, accounted for in the column strength curves, where average stress decreases with increasing slender- ness.) In the latter many of the bolts may not be contributing to the load resistance of the connection (for example, bolt 2 if the nearer plate is loaded to Ago a2 STON re 389 kN Figure 1.1 Positions tio or relative | ovement between vob plc plates Undecbin eam convection sbjet foshearand mo mrcal Experimental path ofcentesof Fprationare shown as Lends are indicated for spect centrxorotason RS =389 kN < < the left) until other bolts have sustained deforma- tions of up to 4mm (j.¢. bolt 3). ‘The influence of this om behaviour can be seen in Figure 1.3, Alternatively, the ‘eye-straight’ imperfections that are acceptable for the steel elements may be compared with the gaps that may exist between a beam end plate and the face of the column to which it is connected.* Due to weld shrinkage, the end plate is likely to be distorted from its ideal plane; as anyone who has ever inspected site steelwork will know, gaps are likely to exist over much of the igure 1.2 Part of bolted connection showing hole misalignment12 Uncertainties and complexities of practical connection behaviour 3 ~ Specimen died after shembly igure 1.3 Loadid Alection response of bolted column bracket, showing in fluence of lack of alignment of bolt holes. ‘mm mismatch on holes marked x Load Pkt) 1250 1000. 750. a _ | 2NO 20 pl. rade 50 y— 6 20 Detlection (mm nominal area of contact. (It was this welding distortion that was. responsible for the bad fit described earlier.) Residual stresses and strains Almost all steelwork contains residual stresses, that is, sets of self-equilibrating stresses that are locked in during manufacture and fabrication. A stiffened plate panel is likely to have compressive residual stresses of 0.2 X 0, and tensile residual stresses of 6,. A hot rolled section may have residual stresses of 0:3 x a, in compression and tension.® These two situations correspond to elastic strain incompatibili ties of 0.15% and 0.08%, respectively. These figures should be contrasted with the mechanical properties that it has been found necessary to specify for the Hyzed range of steels.” These steels may be used in major welded connections with a high degree of restraint in order to eliminate lamellar tearing. The through-thickness properties of the three grades of Hyzed steel have specified minimum reductions of area of 25%, 15% and 10%, corresponding to local strain capacities of approx- imately 33%, 18% and 11%. These figures illustrate the potential magnitude of the plastic strains in a heavily welded connection. Their amplitude, and that of the associated distortion, in a particular situation depends on many factors, including con- nection geometry, weld process and sequence of 4x60 396 x 406 UC 287 grade 50 fabrication. Despite considerable research effort, it has not proved possible to predict their magnitude accurately. Geometric complexity It is axiomatic that there is greater geometric complexity within a connection than along the length of a structural member. This complexity has ‘two important influences on connection behaviour. First, it causes considerable elastic stress concentra- tions within the connection; Figure 1.4 presents stress concentration factors (s.c.f.) for two standard situations.” Thus any bolted connection must have a s.cf, of more than 2.2 and any connection with a sharp discontinuity (itis difficult to think of one that does not have such complexity) will have one of ‘more than 3. Two important points should be noted in relation to stress concentration factors in connec- tions: 1 ‘The figures presented above are macroscopic s.c.f.: much greater microscopic s.c.f. will exist in the presence of any local weld defects or other surface irregularities. Stress concentration factors of much larger magnitude (up to 20) exist in welded tubular connections. The second effect of geometric complexity on connection behaviour is that simple theories do not4 Introduction: a rational basis for connection design 30 SCA» 20M bd on eon ‘ w 2 2 f be or o2 03 on 30 28 2a 18 1a eeeeeeeeeeeeeneeeeE obs ates w a Figure 1.4 Elastic stress concentration factors for (a) axial load on finite-width plate with a transverse hole and (b) tension across a reducing section ~ plane stress predict accurately the distribution of stress within the connection. For example, gusset plates and stiffeners have such proportions that, when subject to bending moments, plane sections do not remain plane and engineers’ simple bending theory gives a oor estimate of maximum stresses. Figure 1.5 Top of beam Position shh bes \ aly me Yn EX) 1 Ccomrosion Tension 0 5 Simple E ery a \ 3 \ \ 2 i ie J Ir i “py simple theory ) Figure 1. Elastic stress distribution in a deep beam with dpth'span rato of 1.0. (a) 0,6, at centreine:(b) 5/0, at paw’ from centrcline shows the true stress distribution that exists in a deep beam with the proportions that can occur in @ connection element.”