Reference Collection for Steel Connection Design Spreadsheet

Contents
A. Reduction factors .................................................................................................................................. 2
B. Design of Moment Splice Connection................................................................................................... 2
1) Check Flexural strength of the Beam/column .................................................................................. 2
a) Strength reductions for Members with holes in Tension Flange .................................................. 2
b) Net tension area............................................................................................................................ 2
c) Hole Diameter ............................................................................................................................... 2
2) Tension flange plate connection check............................................................................................. 3
a) Strength of the bolt (to find minimum number of bolts required)............................................... 3
b) Flange Plate Tensile Yielding (J4.1, Pg 184- AISC 14th ed) ............................................................. 4
c) Flange Plate Tensile rupture (J4.1, Pg 184- AISC 14th ed) ............................................................. 4
d) Flange Plate Block Shear Rupture ................................................................................................. 5
3) Compression flange plate connection check .................................................................................... 6
C. Shear Splice Connection........................................................................................................................ 7
1) Shear Splice design example ............................................................................................................. 7
D. Single Plate Connection ........................................................................................................................ 8
E. Extended Plate Connection ................................................................................................................. 10
1) Design Calculations- Conventional.................................................................................................. 12
2) Design Calculations- Extended ........................................................................................................ 14
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A. Reduction factors
SN Items Reduction
factors (Φ)
1 Tension 0.9
2 Shear 0.75
3 Flexure 0.9
4 Bearing 0.75

B. Design of Moment Splice Connection

1) Check Flexural strength of the Beam/column
a) Strength reductions for Members with holes in Tension Flange

b) Net tension area

While calculating the net area for tension and shear, the bolt hole is taken 1/16 inch (2 mm)
greater than the hole diameter. (16.1-18, AISC 14)
c) Hole Diameter
Hole diameter= bolt diameter +1/16 in (Ref: AISC LRFD 99)
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Figure: Ref: AISC LRFD 99, pg 6-82

Figure: Ref: AISC 14th Edition, pg 16.1- 415

2) Tension flange plate connection check

In this check the connection strength of the tension flange plate is checked.
a) Strength of the bolt (to find minimum number of bolts required)
Check the bolt strength at tension side. The bolt strength is the minimum of the bolt strength
in shear and bolt strength in bearing. The bolt strength in bearing is calculated based on the
edge length and the bolt spacing. The reduction of 0.25 from Lev is to account the possible
underrun.
The bolt strength in shear is given by
∅𝑟𝑛𝑠 = ∅𝐹𝑣 𝐴
Alternatively, shear strength of a bolt can be taken from the table below.

Ref: LRFD 99, pdf page 1254

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The bearing strength of bolt is calculated by the formula below

1 𝑑ℎ 1 𝑑ℎ
∅𝑟𝑛𝑏1 = ∅ ∗ min [(1.2 ∗ {(𝐿𝑒𝑣 − ) − } ∗ 𝐹𝑢𝑝 ∗ 𝑡𝑝 ) , (1.2 ∗ {(𝐿𝑒𝑣 − ) − } ∗ 𝐹𝑢𝑏 ∗ 𝑡𝑓 )]
4 2 4 2
∅𝑟𝑛𝑏2 = ∅ ∗ min[(1.2 ∗ {s − 𝑑ℎ } ∗ 𝐹𝑢𝑝 ∗ 𝑡𝑝 ), (1.2 ∗ {s − 𝑑ℎ } ∗ 𝐹𝑢𝑏 ∗ 𝑡𝑓 )]

b) Flange Plate Tensile Yielding (J4.1, Pg 184- AISC 14th ed)

Tensile yielding is calculated based on the gross section area

𝑀𝑢
𝑅𝑢 = 𝑃𝑢𝑓 =
𝑑 + 𝑡𝑝
c) Flange Plate Tensile rupture (J4.1, Pg 184- AISC 14th ed)

Tensile rupture is calculated based on the effective net area.

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d) Flange Plate Block Shear Rupture

For case-1
𝑑ℎ
𝐴𝑛𝑡 = (𝐿𝑒𝑣 − )∗𝑡
2
𝐴𝑛𝑔 = {(𝑛 − 1)𝑠 + 𝐿𝑒ℎ } ∗ 𝑡
𝐴𝑛𝑣 = [{(𝑛 − 1)𝑠 + 𝐿𝑒ℎ } − 𝑛𝑑ℎ ] ∗ 𝑡
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Alternatively, the tension rupture component, shear rupture component and shear yielding
component can be taken from table 9.3a, 9.3b and 9.3c from AISC manual. The values are
given per inch thickness of the plate or flange.

3) Compression flange plate connection check

The compression flange plate is checked in compression and other connection details as in
section 2. Since the bolt details are similar to that of tension side, bolt bearing and shear
checks are same as previous.
a) Strength of element in compression (AISC 2010 J 4.4, page: 186)
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C. Shear Splice Connection

(Ref: LRFD-99, pg 1648 (Shear Splice 9-179))

Figure 9-5
1) Shear Splice design example
Ref: AISC Design example V.14. Example II.A-20
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D. Single Plate Connection

Ref: LRFD-99, Pg 1616 (9-147) , AISC Steel Construction Manual pg 1230 (10-101)

Dimensional Limitations:
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Note: Table J3.4 is shown below.

Design Checks

Weld Thickness

Recommended plate length and thickness

Minimum Plate length = One half the T-dimension of the beam to be supported.
Maximum Plate length = Should be compatible with the T-dimension of the uncoped
beam and the remaining web depth.

Plate Thickness = , L is the plate length

Note:
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E. Extended Plate Connection

Ref: Steel Construction Manual pg-1231 (10-102)

Dimensional Limitations
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Design Checks
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1) Design Calculations- Conventional

Design Checks of the Shear Plate

1. Bolt Shear
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑𝐶𝐹𝑛𝑣 𝐴𝑏
𝜑 = 0.75

2. Bolt Bearing
𝑑ℎ
𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 = 𝐿𝑒𝑣 −
2
𝑙𝑐−𝑠𝑝𝑎 = 𝑆 − 𝑑ℎ
𝑟𝑛−𝑒𝑛𝑑 = 1.2𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝑟𝑛−𝑠𝑝𝑎 = 1.2𝑙𝑐−𝑠𝑝𝑎 𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝑟𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 = 2.4𝑑𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑{𝑀𝑖𝑛(𝑟𝑛−𝑒𝑛𝑑 , 𝑟𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 ) + (𝑛 − 1)𝑀𝑖𝑛(𝑟𝑛−𝑠𝑝𝑎 , 𝑟𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 )}
𝜑 = 0.75

𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑠𝑒 (𝐿𝑒𝑣
− 0.25)𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑢𝑛

3. Shear Yielding
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝑦 𝐴𝑔
𝜑=1

4. Shear Rupture
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝑢 𝐴𝑛𝑣
𝜑 = 0.75

5. Block Shear
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𝑑ℎ + 1/16
𝐴𝑛𝑡 = (𝐿𝑒ℎ − )∗𝑡
2
𝐴𝑔𝑣 = {(𝑛 − 1)𝑠 + 𝐿𝑒𝑣 } ∗ 𝑡
𝐴𝑛𝑣 = {𝐿𝑒𝑣 − (𝑑ℎ + 1/16)/2} + {(𝑛 − 1) ∗ (𝑠 − (𝑑ℎ + 1/16)}
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑[𝐹𝑢 𝐴𝑛𝑡 + min{(0.6𝐹𝑦 𝐴𝑔𝑣 ), (0.6𝐹𝑢 𝐴𝑛𝑣 )}
𝜑 = 0.75
Design checks at Weld Connection

6. Weld Shear
(Note: The strength of the welded connection is the minimum of Shear rupture and
Tensile Rupture of the plate and Rupture of the weld)
1 𝐷
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑𝐹𝑤 𝐴𝑤 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 𝐴𝑤 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 {( ) ( ) 𝐿𝑤 }
√2 16
1 𝐷
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 ( 2) (16) 𝑙𝑤
√

𝜑 = 0.75
𝑙𝑤 = 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑑 = 2𝐿 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑑, 𝐿 = 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ

7. Shear Rupture of Column Flange

This is checked for the minimum column flange thickness to prevent the shear rupture of
the flange before the weld failure
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𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 √2𝐷
Therefore, 𝑡𝑓,𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
16𝐹𝑢𝑝

Design checks of the Beam Web

Block Shear, Shear Yielding and Shear Rupture do not control the uncoped beam web
section.
8. Bolt Bearing at Beam Web
𝑑−𝐿 𝑑ℎ
𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 = ( + 𝐿𝑒𝑣 ) −
2 2
𝑙𝑐−𝑠𝑝𝑎 = 𝑆 − 𝑑ℎ
𝑅𝑛−𝑒𝑛𝑑 = 1.2𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝑅𝑛−𝑠𝑝𝑎 = 1.2𝑙𝑐−𝑠𝑝𝑎 𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝑅𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 = 2.4𝑑𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑{𝑀𝑖𝑛(𝑅𝑛−𝑒𝑛𝑑 , 𝑅𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 ) + (𝑛 − 1)𝑀𝑖𝑛(𝑅𝑛−𝑠𝑝𝑎 , 𝑅𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 )}
𝜑 = 0.75

𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑠𝑒 (𝐿𝑒𝑣
− 0.25)𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑢𝑛

2) Design Calculations- Extended

Design Checks for Bolt Group

1. Bolt Shear
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑𝐶𝐹𝑛𝑣 𝐴𝑏
𝐶 = [(𝐶2 − 𝐶1 )/(𝑒2 − 𝑒1 ) ∗ (𝑒 − 𝑒1 )] + 𝐶1
𝜑 = 0.75
(Ex. For the figure aside, C=2.33)
(Take C value from AISC ManualTable 7-8, pg 911 (7-38))
2. Bolt Bearing
𝑑ℎ
𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 = 𝐿𝑒𝑣 −
2
𝑙𝑐−𝑠𝑝𝑎 = 𝑆 − 𝑑ℎ
𝑟𝑛−𝑒𝑛𝑑 = 1.2𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝑟𝑛−𝑠𝑝𝑎 = 1.2𝑙𝑐−𝑠𝑝𝑎 𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝑟𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 = 2.4𝑑𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝑟𝑛 = min(𝑟𝑛−𝑒𝑛𝑑 , 𝑟𝑛−𝑠𝑝𝑎 , 𝑟𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 )
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑𝑟𝑛 ∗ 𝐶
𝜑 = 0.75
𝐶 = 𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒

𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝜑𝑟𝑛

∗ 𝐶, 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑡
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑅𝑒𝑓: 𝐴𝐼𝑆𝐶 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑔 891 (7 − 18).
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Design checks for Shear Plate

3. Shear Yielding
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝑦 𝐴𝑔
𝐴𝑔 = 𝑡𝑝 𝐿
𝜑=1

4. Shear Rupture
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝑢 𝐴𝑛𝑣
1
𝐴𝑛𝑣 = 𝑡𝑝 (𝐿 − 𝑛𝑟 (𝑑ℎ + ))
16
𝜑 = 0.75

5. Block Shear
2𝑛𝑐 − 1 1
𝐴𝑛𝑡 = (𝐿𝑒ℎ + 𝑔 − [ ∗ {𝑑ℎ + }]) ∗ 𝑡
2 16
𝐴𝑔𝑣 = {(𝑛 − 1)𝑠 + 𝐿𝑒𝑣 } ∗ 𝑡
𝐴𝑛𝑣 = {𝐿𝑒𝑣 − (𝑑ℎ + 1/16)/2} + {(𝑛𝑐 − 1) ∗ (𝑠 − (𝑑ℎ + 1/16))}
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑[𝐹𝑢 𝐴𝑛𝑡 + min{(0.6𝐹𝑦 𝐴𝑔𝑣 ), (0.6𝐹𝑢 𝐴𝑛𝑣 )}
𝜑 = 0.75
6. Maximum Plate Thickness
(Note: The plate thickness is limited to ensure that the plate yields before the bolts shear.
The plate thickness is chosen in such way that the moment capacity of the bolt group is
higher than the moment capacity of the plate section.)

𝐹𝑛𝑣 (𝐴𝑏 𝐶 ′ )
𝑀𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
0.9
6𝑀𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
𝐹𝑦 𝑑2
(𝑡𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑡_𝑚𝑎𝑥)
7. Shear yielding, Shear Buckling and Flexural Yielding of the Plate
𝑡𝐿2
𝑍𝑝𝑙 =
4
𝜑𝑏 𝑀𝑛 = 𝜑𝐹𝑦 𝑍𝑝𝑙
𝜑𝑏 = 0.9

𝑀𝑢 = 𝑉𝑢 𝑒
𝜑𝑉𝑛 = 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒
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8. Local Buckling of Plate

The local buckling is checked at the point of inflection of the plate or the coped beam. If
𝜆 ≤ 0.7, then local buckling is not a controlling limit state. 𝜆 > 0.7, then plate buckling is
controlling limit state. In this case increase the plate thickness but not more than the
maximum value as per Maximum Plate thickness as calculated above.

ℎ𝑜 = 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑡𝑤 = 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠
𝑐 = 𝑎 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑑

9. Flexural Rupture of Plate

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𝑍𝑛𝑒𝑡 =Calculate the value at bolt line location from AISC Manual, table 15-2, page 1411
(15-12).
𝜑𝑀𝑛 = 𝜑𝐹𝑢 𝑍𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝜑 = 0.75
𝑀𝑢 = 𝑉𝑢 𝑒

Design checks at Weld Connection

10. Weld Shear
(Note: The strength of the welded connection is the minimum of Shear rupture and
Tensile Rupture of the plate and Rupture of the weld)
1 𝐷
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑𝐹𝑤 𝐴𝑤 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 𝐴𝑤 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 {( ) ( ) 𝐿𝑤 }
√2 16
1 𝐷
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 ( ) ( ) 𝑙𝑤
√2 16
𝜑 = 0.75
𝑙𝑤 = 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑑 = 2𝐿 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑑, 𝐿 = 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
11. Shear Rupture of Column Flange
This is checked for the minimum column flange thickness to prevent the shear rupture of
the flange before the weld failure

𝐹𝐸𝑋𝑋 √2𝐷
Therefore, 𝑡𝑓,𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
16𝐹𝑢

Design checks of the Beam Web

Block Shear, Shear Yielding and Shear Rupture do not control the uncoped beam web
section.
12. Bolt Bearing at Beam Web
𝑑−𝐿 𝑑ℎ
𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 = ( + 𝐿𝑒𝑣 ) −
2 2
𝑙𝑐−𝑠𝑝𝑎 = 𝑆 − 𝑑ℎ
𝑅𝑛−𝑒𝑛𝑑 = 1.2𝑙𝑐−𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝑅𝑛−𝑠𝑝𝑎 = 1.2𝑙𝑐−𝑠𝑝𝑎 𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝑅𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 = 2.4𝑑𝑡𝐹𝑢
𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑{𝑀𝑖𝑛(𝑅𝑛−𝑒𝑛𝑑 , 𝑅𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 ) + (𝑛 − 1)𝑀𝑖𝑛(𝑅𝑛−𝑠𝑝𝑎 , 𝑅𝑛−𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 )}
𝜑 = 0.75

13. Shear Yielding of Beam Web

𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝑦 𝐴𝑔
𝐴𝑔 = 𝑑𝑡𝑤
𝜑=1
Reference Collection for Steel Connection Design Spreadsheet

14. Shear Rupture of Beam Web

𝜑𝑅𝑛 = 𝜑0.6𝐹𝑢 𝐴𝑛𝑣
1
𝐴𝑛𝑣 = 𝑡𝑤 (𝑑 − 𝑛𝑟 (𝑑ℎ + ))
16
𝜑 = 0.75