Bolted Field Splice [SIG]

The bolted field splice has no direct impact on the finite element model and is only used for design and 3D visualization purposes.

Girder

Girder: The girder to which the splice plate belongs.

Station [ft]: Station along the PGL.

Gap Between Girders [in]: It represents the gap between the girders connected by the splice plate. It has no effect in 3D. If there is a geometric difference between the girders at the splice plate's connection point (e.g., flange thickness, flange width), it is recommended to enter a non-zero value for this parameter.

Web Weld Size [in]: The thickness of the weld joining the web and flange. (It affects the inner plate width.)

Web Weld Clearance [in]: Web weld clearance refers to the gap between the web of a steel beam and the surface of an adjoining steel plate or member before welding. (It affects the inner plate width.)

Web Splice

Plate Thickness , # of Bolts (Horizontal), # of Bolts (Vertical), Bolt Spacing (Horizontal), Bolt Spacing (Vertical), Bolt Spacing @ Center, Bolt Edge Distance (Horizontal), Bolt Edge Distance (Vertical), and Plate Material parameters can be defined for detailed definitions of Bolted Field Splice’s web.

Top Flange Splice

Inner Plate Thickness,Outer Plate Thickness,# of Bolts (Longitudinal),# of Bolts (Transverse),Bolt Spacing (Longitudinal),Bolt Spacing (Transverse),Bolt Spacing @ Center (Longitudinal),Bolt Spacing @ Center (Transverse),Bolt Edge Distance (Longitudinal),Bolt Edge Distance (Transverse),Plate Material parameters can be defined for detailed definitions of Bolted Field Splice’s top flange splice.

Bottom Flange Splice

Inner Plate Thickness,Outer Plate Thickness,# of Bolts (Longitudinal),# of Bolts (Transverse),Bolt Spacing (Longitudinal),Bolt Spacing (Transverse),Bolt Spacing @ Center (Longitudinal),Bolt Spacing @ Center (Transverse),Bolt Edge Distance (Longitudinal),Bolt Edge Distance (Transverse),Plate Material parameters can be defined for detailed definitions of Bolted Field Splice’s bottom flange splice.

Bolts

Web Bolt Property: Choose the bolt that will be utilized for the web.

Flange Bolt Property: Choose the bolt that will be utilized for both the top and bottom flanges.

Show Bolts (Detailing) [YES/NO]:To display bolts on the 3D view, the detailing option must be turned on with show bolts=yes. However, enabling this option increases the triangulation number, leading to slower performance. To reduce compile time, disabling the detailing option can be helpful.

If splices ,that are modeled, need to be included with their weight loads, after modeling the splices from this section, the spreadsheet under Construction → Superstructure Construction → Girder Erection (Partial) /Girder/Cross-Frame Erection (Complete) has a parameter named ‘Splice Load' that must be set to 'Include.' Otherwise, this parameter can be kept as 'Ignore’.