Steel Connections - Base Plate

This joint is created by welding a steel plate to the bottom end of the column, which is in turn connected to the foundations through anchors. The joint can include several plates, stiffeners or shear anchor.

You can customize each joint element using the available buttons from the Joint elements panel. All changes made in every window can be viewed in real time. For example, you can define the geometry of the plates and stiffeners, set the configuration of the anchors and customize the welds (thickness, type and quality) for each part of the joint or add different elements.

Each parameter is illustrated by a corresponding image in the dialog box.

For the joint member (column), a drop-down list is available for selecting the desired “I” section or creating a new parametric “I” section (laminated or welded). Steel class can be also set for each joint member.

Users have the possibility to define load cases, load combinations and add values for the loads (N - axial force, M – bending moment, V- shear force). The sign convention is displayed in the Loads dialog for each joint type. Below is an example of Loads dialog for a base plate joint.

It is possible to set manually the combination coefficient or automatically generate combinations according to the Eurocode 0.

The users can add different load cases from the available list. Also, the envelope load case doesn’t require any combination, because it is interpreted as a special load case that has the meaning of a combination which consists only of the maximum value of the efforts. For example, the user can define an envelope case that can provide the maximum axial force, maximum shear force or maximum bending moment.

The user can obtain a generic connection drawing (elevation and sections), which can further be exported and adjusted in other CAD software.

The Drawing Settings dialog is used for customizing the drawing. Here, the user can set the page layout and the title blocks, disable different views (sections/elevation) in the drawing, change the section symbols and the scale for each view. The print margins can be set when printing the generated drawing.