FEBRUARY 2006 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

C
CHAPTER K OF THE 2005 SPECIFICATION
HAS BEEN COMPLETELY REWRITTEN. Dedi-
cated solely to the design of HSS and box mem-
ber connections, it covers member strength design
considerations pertaining to members of uniform
wall thickness. The additional requirements of
bolting to HSS members are covered in Chapter J,
Design of Connections.
Concentrated Forces on HSS
The rst section of Chapter K deals with con-
centrated forces on HSS, whether it be point loads
from gusset plates of hangers connected to an HSS
member or beam anges (transverse plates) from
a moment connection to an HSS column. Step by
step, the section rst addresses the denition of pa-
rameters and then looks at the limits of applicabil-
ity. For instance:
1. Strength: F
y
52 ksi (360 MPa) for HSS
2. Ductility: F
y
/F
u
0.8 for HSS
3. Other limits apply for specic criteria
The section specically addresses the criteria
for rectangular or round HSS sections with either
concentrated forces distributed transversely or
concentrated forces distributed longitudinally at
the center of the HSS diameter or width, and act-
ing perpendicular to the HSS axis. Sections K1.3
and K1.4, although pertaining to all concentrated
forces on HSS, are particularly oriented toward
plate-to-HSS welded connections.
Section K1.5 pertains to shear forces acting
parallel to the HSS section. Note that over a wide
range of connection types that have been tested,
only one limit state has been identied: punching
shear failure related to end rotation of the beam,
hss connections
BY JEFFREY PACKER, PH.D. AND TABITHA STINE, P.E.
The Future of
HSS Connection Design
Tabitha Stine is AISCs Great
Plains Regional Engineer.
NASCC: THE STEEL CONFERENCE
Chapter K of the 2005 specication represents a dramatic advance in
recommendations for the design of HSS and box member connections.
Jeffrey Packer is a Professor of
Civil Engineering at the Uni-
versity of Toronto.
when a thick shear plate is joined to a relatively
thin-walled HSS. By satisfying the requirement of
equation K1-10, where F
yp
t
p
F
u
t , the punching
shear requirement has been satised.
The nal section of K1 deals with concentrated
axial forces on the ends of a rectangular HSS sec-
tion with a cap plate, K1.6. Two limit states are
checked for this situation, wall local yielding due to
tension or compressive forces and wall local crip-
pling due to compressive loads only.
HSS-to-HSS Connections
The specication addresses these connections,
which are dened as connections that consist of
one or more branch members that are directly
welded to a continuous chord that passes through
the connection. They can be classied as either K
(which includes N), Y (which includes T), or cross
(also known as X) connections, which are based
on the method of force transfer in the connection,
not on the physical appearance of the connection.
Common examples of particular HSS connection
classication are shown in the gure (next page).
Different limit states govern whether the section
is a round or rectangular HSS section. The speci-
cation begins by stating all limits of applicability,
in terms of joint eccentricity, branch angle, chord
wall, tension branch wall, compression branch wall
slenderness, width ratio, strength, and ductility, just
to name a few, for either round or rectangular HSS
connections. Based on these parameters all being
satised, the design strengths can then be calcu-
lated based on the specication requirements. In
the case of round HSS (section K2.2), depending
on the type of classication of the connection, limit
When the HSS Connections Manual was published in 1997, it ushered in a new era in the use of hollow structural connections
in the U.S. Now, with the inclusion of Chapter K (Design of HSS and Box Member Connections) in the new 13th Edition Steel
Construction Manual, every designer will have ready access to the information.
At this years NASCC: The Steel Conference, Jeffrey A. Packer, one of the worlds leading experts on tubular steel structures
and a professor at the University of Toronto, and AISC Regional Engineer Tabitha S. Stine, presented a paper on HSS Connec-
tion Design After 2005. The following information was gleaned from that paper. AISC members can view the full paper, which
includes a discussion of ongoing research, at no charge by visiting www.aisc.org/bookstore after February 15.
MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION FEBRUARY 2006
states for both chord plastication as well as
shear yielding (punching) are checked. As
with the entire specication, the respective
(LRFD) and (ASD) are given for the
specic equations depending on the limit
state and connection classication. Section
K2.3 addressed the criteria for rectangular
HSS sections. Similar limits of applicability
apply, and again as these are satised, the
design strength can be checked. For T-, Y-,
and X-connections, the design strength of
the branch, P
n
, or the allowable strength
of the branch, P
n
/, shall be the lowest
value obtained according to the limit states
of chord wall plastication, shear yielding
(punching), sidewall strength, and local
yielding due to uneven load distribution.
HSS-to-HSS Moment Connections
HSS-to-HSS moment connections are
dened as connections that consist of one
or two branch members that are directly
welded to a continuous chord that passes
through the connection, with the branches
loaded by bending moments. A connection
shall be classied as either a T-connection
when there is one branch and it is perpen-
dicular to the chord and as a Y-connec-
tion when there is one branch but it is not
perpendicular to the chord, or as a cross
connection when there is a branch on each
opposite side of the chord. Note that this
section applies to connections under mo-
ment loading in frames with PR or FR mo-
ment connections, such as Vierendeel gird-
ers. These provisions are not applicable to
typical planar triangulated trusses. There-
fore, K-connections with moment loading
on the branches are not covered by this
specication.
Other Resources
Note that Chapter K deals only with
the static design of particular HSS-to-HSS
and plate-to-HSS welded connections for
building construction. Other resources
provide information on the fatigue design
of on-shore HSS welded connections, most
notably the draft international standard
ISO/WD 14347. It also is anticipated that
AWS D1.1 (2008) will provide guidance on
fatigue design of HSS welded connections
using the Hot Spot Stress approach.
Another useful publication is CIDECTs
recent 9th design guide on connections
to hollow section columns, which covers
simple (shear), semi-rigid, and rigid (mo-
ment) connections. Of particular note is
that this book contains an extensive treat-
ment of wide-ange beam-to-HSS column
connections for seismic applications. The
connection methods utilize through dia-
phragms or external diaphragms welded
to the column, which are popular in Japan,
yet meet FEMA (2000a) Design Criteria.
The improved details recommended are
equivalent to pre-qualied connections
conforming to the FEMA (2000b) Accep-
tance Criteria.
Fire resistance is a very popular issue
at the moment and CIDECT has released
software to evaluate the re stability of
unprotected concrete-lled hollow sec-
tion columns. The program, produced in
France by CTICM, is called Potre and
is a free download from www.cidect.com.
Although calculations are performed in ac-
cordance with the Eurocodes and a stan-
dard ISO re, it serves as a good indicative
re resistance check for a variety of com-
posite columns. Figure 1: Examples of HSS Connection Classification
Common HSS connection classifications.
FEBRUARY 2006 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION
What About Cast Connections?
Cast steel joints have enjoyed a renais-
sance in Europe in conjunction with tubu-
lar steel construction, mainly as truss-type
nodes in dynamically-loaded pedestrian,
highway, and railway bridges where fabri-
cated nodes would have been fatigue-criti-
cal. Another popular application has been
in tree-like tubular roof structures where
the smooth lines of a cast node have great
architectural appeal. The use of cast steel
connectors to tubular braces under severe
seismic load conditions has not been con-
sidered, but cast steel connections represent
a solution to the design dilemma of fabri-
cated bracing member connections. These
can be specially shaped to provide material
where it is particularly needed. Types cur-
rently under investigation at the University
of Toronto are shown in the gure, right.
By mass-producing cast end connectors to
suit popular round HSS bracing member
sizes, an economic and aesthetic solution
can be reached that still allows the use of
regular HSS members and avoids the use
of alternatives like buckling-restrained
braces. This represents another exciting
development that can be anticipated in tu-
bular steel construction.
Further research on cast steel nodes, ori-
ented to wide-ange beam-to-column mo-
ment connections and primarily for seismic
applications, is also underway at present at
the University of Arizona. Another inno-
vative connection solution for wide ange
beam-to-HSS columns has been launched
by California-based ConXtech Inc., termed
the SMRSF. With this, a pre-engineered
collar connection is tted around 4 or 8
square HSS columns and bolted together on
site, resulting in very fast construction times.
Although it uses machined components
that are shop-welded in place, rather than
cast components, this connection is also pre-
qualied for use as a fully restrained Special
Moment Resistant Frame connection under
the latest FEMA and AISC seismic provi-
sions. Novel connection solutions such as
these herald a potential paradigm shift in
HSS construction technology.
A clear improvement is to use cold-formed round hollow sections, which thus do not have corners, to select a
material with a more favorable F
y
/F
u
ratio, and to avoid reinforcement. The use of ASTM A53 Grade B (ASTM,
2002) pipe provides a suitably low nominal F
y
/F
u
ratio of 0.58. This can be compared to the popular ASTM A500
square HSS Grade C which has a nominal F
y
/F
u
ratio of 0.81 and is also known to have poor impact resistance
properties (Kosteski et al., 2005). The use of fabricated, slotted round HSS gusset plate connections, without
reinforcement, is hence being further explored at the University of Toronto. Fabrication with the slot end un-welded
(i.e. without an end return weld) is a very popular practice in North America, so details are being investigated which
still permit this concept yet provide a net area (A
n
) equal to the gross area (A
g
) at the critical cross-section, such as
shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8: Fabricated Connection Detail using an Over-Slotted Round HSS but with A
n
= A
g
at the Weld Termination
CAST STEEL CONNECTIONS SEISMIC APPLICATIONS
Cast steel joints have enjoyed a renaissance in Europe in conjunction with tubular steel construction, mainly as
truss-type nodes in dynamically-loaded pedestrian, highway and railway bridges where fabricated nodes would have
been fatigue-critical. Another popular application has been in tree-like tubular roof structures where the smooth lines
of a cast node have great architectural appeal. The use of cast steel connectors to tubular braces under severe seismic
load conditions has not been considered, but cast steel connections represent a solution to the design dilemma of
fabricated bracing member connections and these can be specially shaped to provide material where it is particularly
needed. Types currently under investigation at the University of Toronto are shown in Figure 9. By mass-producing
cast end connectors, to suit popular round HSS bracing member sizes, an economic and aesthetic solution can be
reached that still allows the use of regular HSS members and avoids the use of alternatives like buckling-restrained
braces. This represents another exciting development that can be anticipated in tubular steel construction.
Figure 9: Cast Steel Connections to Tubular Braces for Seismic Load Applications
After Assembly Before Assembly
Brace is inserted
into casting
Casting protrudes
into brace member
These cast connections for HSS are currently under investigation at the University of Toronto.