Fin Plate Connection Design Spreadsheet

Fin Plate Connections

Fin plate connections are commonly used in multi-storey braced frame construction and in other simple frames. This allows the beams to be designed as simply supported and the columns can be designed for mainly axial loads.

Fin plate connections consist of fin plates welded to the column which are then bolted to the beam. Only a small clearance between the beam and supporting column remains. Fin plate connections are very popular in simple construction because they are economical to fabricate and can be quick and simple to install.

Fin Plate Connection Design Procedure

The Fin Plate Connection Design Spreadsheet includes 2 separate sheets for the design of commonly used fin plate connections. This includes the following sheets;

• Beam to Column Web Fin Plate Connection Design
• Beam to Column Flange Fin Plate Connection Design

Firstly the user must enter the details of the beam and column. The spreadsheet allows the designer to choose from any standard I shaped beam or column section including UB, UC, UBP, HE, IPE, HD, HLZ, HL and HP sections. In total geometrical and design details for over 500 different sections are included in the spreadsheet.

The next step is to input the loadings which the fin plate connection will be subjected to. These include the shear force to be resisted and any tying forces required for the design. The user must also input the partial action factors to be used. These factors are automatically set to the required values in BS EN 1993-1-8 though they can be altered to suit alternative standards.

The last set of inputs are the details of the bolts, welds and the fin plates. The spreadsheet is pre-set with list of standard bolt types from M1.6 to M64. In total 29 different standard bolt sizes are included. The spreadsheet automatically chooses geometrical information for standard bolts, though these can be altered by the designer where required to suit any non-standard bolt.

The fin plate connection design spreadsheet creates a dynamic drawing of the fin plate connection which the user can use to determine whether the proposed connection has been input correctly. This removes any risk of inputs being confused.

Then the fin plate connection design spreadsheet instantly completes all the calculations required for the design of the connection in accordance with BS EN 1993-1-8. The calculations are presented with a utilisation factor, allowing the user to see exactly how much of the capacity of the connection is being used for each calculations. The results are shown in either green or red showing the user at a glance exactly where the connection is adequate and where it is deficient.

The calculations undertaken automatically by the spreadsheet include;

• Shear Resistance of Bolts
• Shear Resistance of the Fin Plate
• Buckling Resistance of the Fin Plate
• Bearing Resistance of the Fin Plate
• Bearing Resistance of the Beam Web
• Bending Resistance of the Fin Plate
• Shear Resistance of the Bolts to Tying Forces
• Bearing Resistance of the Fin Plate to Tying Forces
• Bearing Resistance of the Beam Web to Tying Forces
• Tensile Resistance of the Beam Web to Tying Forces
• Weld Resistance

The spreadsheet also shows a summary of the design calculation results at the top of the page, allowing the designer to see the effects of any changes to the design instantly without scrolling up and down the page.

The CivilWeb Fin Plate Connection Design Spreadsheet also includes unique graphs for detailed analysis of the fin plate connection design. These graphs show the effects of alterations to the fin plate thickness and bolt diameter on the design results. These analysis graphs enable the design to see at a glance exactly how the plate thickness and bolt size can be amended to suit the design requirements. This removes the need for time consuming iterative calculations to optimise the design, it can be done at a glance.

CivilWeb Fin Plate Connection Design Spreadsheet

The CivilWeb Fin Plate Connection Design Spreadsheet is an advanced spreadsheet program for the design of steel fin plate connections. The spreadsheet instantly completes all the calculations required for the design in accordance with BS EN 1993-1-8. The spreadsheet includes separate sheets for the design of fin plates connecting to the column web and to the column flange. The spreadsheet also comes complete with unique analysis tools allowing the designer to complete a fully optimised and fully compliant fin plate connection design in minutes, saving hours of detailed iterative calculations on every design.

Buy the CivilWeb Fin Plate Connection Design Spreadsheet now for only £19.99.

Or why not buy our best value bundle, the full CivilWeb Steel Design Suite which includes all of our steel design spreadsheets for only £49.99, a saving of 66%.

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