Project: HiCAD Steel Engineering

Gusset Plates

"Civil Engineering" docking window > Steel Engineering > Macros > Gusset plate

The Gusset plate function enables you to insert and bolt plates by specifying the main beam (main beams) and the diagonals or posts to be shortened.

Basic procedure:

Activate the Gusset plate function.
Activate the Material tab and make the necessary entries.
Switch to the Gusset plates tab. Choose the desired options and enter the required data.
Choose OK to exit the tab.
Next, HiCAD asks you to identify the main direction. Use the right mouse button to end the identification
Next, identify the beams to be shortened.

The following figures provide an overview of the possible uses of gusset and batten plates.

Prerequisite for the calculation:

The axes of all connections projected onto the plate plane intersect in one point - midpoint -, which lies on the projected axis of the traversing beams.
The shortening dimensions and the bolt offsets give rise to the plate contour edges. Intermediate edges are created and clipped at an angle of at least 15°, the so-called edge angle, at these contour edges. If this cut produces an acute external angle < 90°, the plate is cut straight between these connections; otherwise, the two edges are taken as contour edges.

Edge angle (1)

Terms

Main direction
The main direction describes the beam or the beams to which a gusset plate is fitted. HiCAD automatically identifies whether the gusset plate is fitted between two beams or whether it is added to a beam such as a double T-girder.
If the beam is not bolted in the main direction, the bolting must not be set in the main direction in the Material tab before the flange plate is fitted!
Posts and Diagonals
The distinction between posts and diagonals enables you to use a special bolting to set connections perpendicular and skew to the main direction.

Note:

The midpoint of the plate is used as the midpoint for the bolting of the main beams!
Gusset plates can also be connected to pipes or HEB girders. In this case, to determine the main direction, you identify the beam and then press the right mouse button. Next, you specify the diagonals and posts.

Settings on the 'Material' tab

Plate material
Choose the desired material from the list box.
For:
Choose the fitting direction. If the beam is not bolted in the main direction, the bolting must not be set in the main direction in the Material tab before the gusset plate is fitted!
Bolt type
Select the bolt type. The template which you assigned to this type via the New bolting function is used for the bolt connection.
Strength class and Diameter
Choose the bolt diameter and the strength class from the corresponding list box here.
Bolting Offset
The offsets of the boltings can either be copied from a table or entered directly into the fields, with e1 being the distance to the edge in force direction to the first bore for the bolting and e2 the corresponding offset perpendicular to the force direction. p1 is the hole offset in force direction/skew to the force direction, p2 the hole offset perpendicular to the force direction.

The values that you enter on this tab are the default settings the next time you call the function!

Edge Angle
This value determines the angle at which the intermediate edges for the calculation are placed on the contour edges. The angle must be at least 15°.
Fillet
Here, you activate the relevant options to define whether you want the plate to be filleted. If yes, enter the fillet radius, in addition.
Main direction
Enter the required data for the main direction here.

Values w1, w2 and w3 are determined via the beam and define the distance of the bolting to the edge of the beam. In the case of equilateral beams, values w1 and w3 are identical. The values can either be taken from the standard table or entered directly. Standard table here refers to the table defined for the beam in the standard catalogue. You can use the catalogue editor to define new catalogues and tables.
If you use series beams, i.e. derive the beams from 2-D parts, you can also assign parameters w1, w2, w3 to the 2-D figures. In this case, the values assigned to the 2-D part are used for fitting batten or gusset plates. The Detect from table checkbox needs to be active in this case.
If you do not want any bolts to be fitted in main direction, deactivate the Bolts Yes/No option. Bolts can also be arranged with an offset

3 rows, 5 columns, left: without offset, right: with offset

Shortening
Specify the shortening offset for the diagonals and posts here. This is the value by which the beam is shortened when the plate is fitted.
Beams to be shortened
You define the data for the diagonals and posts here. To do this, select the relevant connection from the list box and enter the data for this connection. The same input fields as for the main direction are available.
Plate: Trim plane
If you want the gusset plate to be trimmed, activate the checkbox. HiCAD then asks you to specify the trim plane before finally fitting the plate.