Splice Connection Design Spreadsheet

Steel Splice Connections

Splice connections are needed in any steel frame construction where one beam or column needs to be joined to another. This can happen when the steel section is too long to be manufactured, transported and erected in one piece, for example columns in tall buildings. The beams and columns are often the same size however it is also possible to design a splice connection to attach different sized beams and columns.

The forces can be transferred from one section into another either in direct bearing or with the use of a division plate. Flange and web plates can also be used. In this case the sections can either be in contact or can be separated by a small gap.

Splice Connection Design Procedure

The CivilWeb Splice Connection Design Spreadsheet includes 6 different design spreadsheets in order to encompass all commonly used steel splice connections. This includes the following sheets;

• Beam to Beam Splice Connection
• Column Bearing Cap and Base Connection
• Non-Bearing Column Flange Plate Moment Connection
• Bearing Column Flange Plate Moment Connection
• RHS / SHS Tension Splice
• CHS Tension Splice

The first step in the design of the splice connections is to detail the beams and columns in the connection. 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.

Secondly the designer must input the design loadings to be resisted by the splice connection. These design loadings include axial, shear, moment and tying forces, including permanent and variable forces. The user can also specify the partial action factors to be used for the design. The spreadsheets include pre-set values in accordance with BS EN 1993-1-8 though the user can override these pre-set values to suit alternative design standards if desired.

Finally the designer can specify the bolts, welds and connection plate details. Each spreadsheet is loaded with a pre-set list of standard bolt types from M1.6 to M64. 29 different standard bolt types are included. The spreadsheet sets geometrical information for standard bolts, though these can be overridden by the designer where required to suit any non-standard bolt type.

The spreadsheet creates a dynamic diagram of the proposed connection based on the inputs. This allows the designer to check easily that the proposed connection design has been input correctly.

After the designer has input all the design details, the spreadsheet instantly completes the calculations in accordance with BS EN 1993-1-8. The calculations are completed automatically and instantly, adjusting each time the designer alters and of the inputs. The spreadsheet presents the results of the calculations to the designer using a utilisation factor. This shows the user exactly how well suited the connection design is the design loadings. The results are shown in red or green depending on whether the connection is adequate or not, showing the designer at a glance whether the connection is suitable.

The calculations undertaken automatically by the spreadsheet include;

• Resistance of the splice connection to compression and moment
• Resistance to Horizontal Shear
• Weld Resistance
• Bolts Tensile Resistance to Tying Forces
• Bolts Punching Resistance to Tying Forces
• Resistance of Cap & Base Plates or Flange Plates

The CivilWeb Splice Connection Design Spreadsheet produces a handy summary of the calculation results at the top of the sheet. This allows the designer to see the results of the calculations instantly as soon as any alterations are made to the proposed splice connection.

The spreadsheet also creates unique design analysis graphs to show the designer the effects of alterations to the critical design parameters. The designer can use these graphs to optimise the bolt size and the plate thicknesses to suit the exact requirements of the design. The user does not need to complete any time consuming iterative calculations to achieve an optimum design, the graphs show the designer exactly what the optimum design values are.

CivilWeb Splice Connection Design Spreadsheet

The CivilWeb Splice Connection Design Spreadsheet is an easy to use spreadsheet program for the design of splice beam and column connections in steel frames. The spreadsheet completes all the calculations required for the design in accordance with BS EN 1993-1-8. The spreadsheet includes unique features which enable the designer to complete a fully optimised, fully compliant splice connection design in minutes without any time consuming iterative calculations.

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