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Galvanized Slip-Critical Connections for column stability also exists when girders frame continuously over
Section 7.2 of the AISC Seismic Provisions indicates that bolted the top of the column. See Section 2 of the 13th edition AISC Steel
joints must have Class A faying surfaces. Section 3.2.2(c) of the Construction Manual for further information.
RCSC Specification for Structural Joints using ASTM A325 or Brad Davis, Ph.D., S.E.
A490 Bolts indicates that galvanized faying surfaces are des-
ignated as Class C. Does this mean that we are unable to use
steel members that are galvanized in the vicinity of the connec- Bolting for High-Seismic Applications
tions, for high-seismic applications? Are slip-critical connections required for seismic connections?
And if so, for what seismic design category are they necessary?
The classes of faying surface finish requirements have been revised
in the 2005 AISC Specification, now only including Class A and Class In high-seismic applications, slip resistance is required, but the con-
B requirements. The 2004 RCSC Specification was based on the three nections are designed for bearing values. According to Section 7.2
Class distinctions. The Commentary to Section J3.8 (page 349) of the of the 2005 AISC Seismic Provisions (AISC 341) (a free download
2005 AISC Specification discusses this revision. The previous Class A at www.aisc.org/2005seismic), “All bolts shall be pretensioned
and Class C categories have now been consolidated into one Class A, high-strength bolts and shall meet the requirements for slip-critical
which includes hot-dip galvanized and roughened surfaces. faying surfaces … with a Class A surface.” Also, “The available shear
Kurt Gustafson, S.E., P.E. strength of bolted joints using standard holes shall be calculated as
that for bearing-type joints…” This is applicable for high-seismic
Floor Plate applications where the requirements in AISC 341 must be met.
A note at the bottom of the Floor Plate Bending Capacity table Amanuel Gebremeskel, P.E
on p. 2-145 in the 9th edition ASD Manual indicates that the
loads are based on an extreme fiber stress of 16 ksi and simple- Nut Engagement
span bending. The 16 ksi allowable stress seems to be very We have a situation where bolts have been installed too short
conservative, assuming that the plates would likely have a yield (the bolt tip is below the top of nut) in a steel-to-steel joint. Is
strength of not less than that for A36 steel. What is the 16 ksi there a way to assess the reduced capacity based on the per-
allowable based on? centage of thread engaged?

You are right that the tables published in the Manual for simple-span The 2004 RCSC Specification (a free download at www.boltcouncil.
flexure of floor plates may be conservative. However, these tables are org) requires that “the bolt length used shall be such that the end of
merely design aides based on the conservative assumptions that are the bolt extends beyond or is at least flush with the outer face of the
stated. Floor plate is commonly specified as ASTM A786, which is nut when properly installed.” Thus when the bolts are “short,” the
generally a commercial grade steel with no defined strength level, installation is non-compliant. There is no reduced value permit-
and this table allows for a very low strength level product. The ted by the specification. The bolts should be replaced with bolts
responsible design professional always has the option of making their of the correct length.
own analysis based on known parameters of the material they are Kurt Gustafson, S.E., P.E.
working with, rather than use what they may deem to be conserva-
tive design aides. However, floor plate design is usually controlled by Hole Sizes for Galvanized Bolts
deflection anyway. An engineer designed the structural steel connections using
Kurt Gustafson, S.E., P.E. standard holes in all plys for ASTM A325-N bolts such that
the connections need not consider slip-critical limit states. The
Rotational Restraint at Support steel is to be hot-dip galvanized. The galvanizer is requesting
AISC Specification Section J10.7 requires full-depth stiffeners that the standard holes be increased by an additional tolerance
at the “unframed ends of beams and girders.” What does this of 1⁄16 in. to account for the coating thickness. I’m hesitant to
mean? Would an example be a girder bearing on a column with grant approval for a hole size that would require slip-critical
no beam framing into it at the column? limit states to dictate connection design. If the hole size is
increased, would the connection design need to be reevaluated
Yes, this section addresses situations such as the end of a beam that for slip-critical conditions?
bears on column cap plate. Unless the column top is restrained, the
beam might twist or the web might distort, allowing the bottom flange Increasing the hole size to account for the galvanizing in a bearing
to move transversely. This creates a dangerous situation, because the condition is not an accepted practice and is not allowed by the AISC
column below was designed assuming a pinned-pinned condition with Specification or the RCSC Specification. If the holes are oversized the
its top is restrained against lateral displacement. If a brace is provided connection must be designed as slip-critical.
to restrain the top of the column, the beam end is framed. If not, stiff- Larry S. Muir, P.E.
eners can be used as required in Section J10.7. Note that the concern

 june 2009 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

steel interchange
Stiffeners for an EBF Link have to be less than 0.208 in. thick for punching shear to control. It
Commentary Section C15.3 in the AISC Seismic Provisions would be very unusual for a W-shape column to have a web thickness
indicates that for EBF links that are less than 25 in. deep, the less than this.
stiffener need be on one side only. What is the interpretation of There are three W-shape beam sections that have a web thick-
“need be?” Does it mean “must be” or “may be?” Many practic- ness less than 0.208 in. These are rarely, if ever, used as girders. Even
ing engineers are interpreting this as “may be.” When EBFs if one of these sections (W8×10, W10×12, or W12×14) is used as a
were tested, what was the protocol? Have they tested interme- girder, it will not have adequate torsional stiffness to allow punching
diate stiffeners on one side only? Is there any detrimental effect shear to be a realistic limit state. If a shear tab is on both sides of the
on the inenelastic rotation of link beam due to increased rigid- web, then the supporting member won’t rotate much, but punching
ity of link beam when stiffeners are used on both sides? shear also may not occur in that case, because shear tab on the oppo-
site side will be trying to rotate in the opposite direction. (Note that
Use of either one-sided or two-sided intermediate stiffeners is a single-sided shear tab is always the case for an HSS column.)
allowed for beams up to the indicated depth. Both one-sided and So, punching shear is possible for a web supporting a shear tab,
two-sided specimens have been tested, with similar loading protocols but it is only realistic for HSS columns, because those columns pro-
to what is used for moment connections (increasing the displacement vide significant rotational restraint and some of those sections have
incrementally until failure). The drift limits in the AISC Seismic Pro- extremely thin walls.
visions were based on these tests. No difference in performance was Brad Davis, Ph.D., S.E.
noted between one-sided and two-sided specimens. The key item is
that the stiffener must be stiff enough to force the link web to buckle Shear Lag Factor
in the panels between stiffeners, rather than over length of the link. Table D3.1 of the 2005 AISC Specification gives shear lag fac-
The thickness requirements for stiffeners in the AISC Seismic Provi- tors (U) for various cases of tension connections. I have a
sions are adequate to make this happen for the single-sided cases. situation like Case 4, where two plates are transmitting ten-
James O. Malley, Senior Principal sion through longitudinal welds only. The U-factors are based
Degenkolb Engineers upon the length of the weld (l) and the width of the plate (w).
No U-factors are tabulated for the condition where l < w. The
Tensile Strength of Anchor Rods plate I have is 4 in. wide and the weld can only be 2 in. long.
Where does one find values for futa (specified tensile strength What U-factor is appropriate for this situation?
of anchor steel) as used in Appendix D of ACI 318? Also, is the
fya (specified yield strength of anchor steel) equal to Fnt given in Such a weld connection configuration does not meet the AISC Speci-
Table J3.2 of the 2005 AISC Specification? fication requirement as stated in Section J2.2b: “If longitudinal fillet
welds are used alone in end connections of flat-bar tension members,
Generally, the required minimum tensile stress for the material type the length of each fillet weld shall not be less than the perpendicular
can be found in the applicable ASTM Standard. The value of Fu for distance between them.” Thus there is no U-factor listed as appropri-
many types of ASTM materials used for anchor rods covered by ate for this detail because it represents a condition in which the shear
the AISC Specification also are listed in Table 2-5 of the 13th edition lag effect is likely to cause rupture to occur in a manner that is not
AISC Steel Construction Manual. well predicted by the methods we use in design.
The answer is “no” to the second question. The values of Fnt in Kurt Gustafson, S.E., P.E.
Table J3.2 in the 2005 AISC Specification provide the nominal tensile
stress for use with φ or Ω in design, and are adjusted to account for
the difference between nominal bolt body area and threaded area.
This is not the yield strength. Some anchor rod materials have a The complete collection of Steel Interchange questions and answers is available online.
Find questions and answers related to just about any topic by using our full-text search
defined yield point, while others do not. The tensile stress as used in capability. Visit Steel Interchange online at www.modernsteel.com.
the ACI 318 Appendix D approach is based on the tensile stress area
Kurt Gustafson is the director of technical assistance and Amanuel Gebremeskel is a
at the thread. Therefore, one needs to be careful when comparing senior engineer in AISC’s Steel Solutions Center. Larry Muir and Brad Davis are part-time
the two approaches to anchor rod evaluation. consultants to AISC. James O. Malley is Senior Principal at Degenkolb Engineers.

Kurt Gustafson, S.E., P.E. Steel Interchange is a forum to exchange useful and practical professional ideas and
information on all phases of steel building and bridge construction. Opinions and
suggestions are welcome on any subject covered in this magazine.
Punching Shear The opinions expressed in Steel Interchange do not necessarily represent an official
Why is there a requirement to check punching shear on the position of the American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc. and have not been reviewed. It
is recognized that the design of structures is within the scope and expertise of a competent
wall of an HSS column with a single-plate shear connection, but licensed structural engineer, architect or other licensed professional for the application of
no similar check when connecting to the web of a W-Shape? principles to a particular structure.
If you have a question or problem that your fellow readers might help you solve, please
forward it to us. At the same time, feel free to respond to any of the questions that you
Punching shear can occur at a W-shape column or girder web. have read here. Contact Steel Interchange via AISC’s Steel Solutions Center:
However, it is not usually a consideration, because W-shape column
and girder webs are usually thick enough that punching shear won’t
control. Using Equation K1-10 of the 2005 AISC Specification, for a
3
⁄8-in. ASTM A36 shear tab and an ASTM A992 web, the web would One East Wacker Dr., Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60601
tel: 866.ASK.AISC • fax: 312.803.4709
solutions@aisc.org
MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION june 2009