The End Plate to Plate component allows you to connect one member to another by means of an end plate, reference plate, stiffener, bolt group, and welds.
To Connect
The first category of the component settings manages the definition of a connected member and a reference member.
End Plate
The second category controls the definition of the plate. Select the plate material from the defined materials or create a new material. Then, enter the thickness of the plate.
You can define the dimensions of the plate either by "'Offsets" or by "Dimensions and position". Select the relevant option from the list.
If you define the end plate by "Offsets", two dimensions—the top offset and bottom offset—are derived from the section dimensions of the reference member. That is, how far the end plate overhangs the bounding box of the section. You can check the overall plate dimensions in the final rows, but you cannot change them.
If you select the "Dimensions and position" option, you can directly enter the size of the plate. The position of the end plate is related to the connected member: The vertical position is measured from the upper edge of the profile (positive values upwards), while the horizontal eccentricity is measured from the center of gravity of the member section.
Switching between the definition types will not change the position or dimensions of the plate. The values are recalculated to reflect the current definition.
Reference Plate
The subsequent category controls the definition of the reference plate – the plate that is welded to the reference member. Select the plate material from the defined materials or create a new material. Then, enter the thickness of the plate.
Again, you can define the dimensions of the plate either by "Offsets" or by "Dimensions and position".
If you define the plate by "Offsets", two dimensions—the top offset and bottom offset—are derived from the section dimensions of the reference member. That is, how far the end plate overhangs the bounding box of the section. You can check the overall plate dimensions in the final rows, but you cannot change them.
If you select the "Dimensions and position" option, you can enter the size of the plate directly. The eccentricities define the position of the reference plate in the plane of the bounding box. The vertical eccentricity moves the plate along its local y-axis, while the horizontal eccentricity may be used for moving the reference plate along its local x-axis.
Switching between the definition types will not change the position or dimensions of the plate. The values are recalculated to reflect the current definition.
The "Stiffened" check box determines whether the reference plate is stiffened or not. If you select that option, the Stiffener category is added, where you can define the parameters.
Stiffener
This category is only shown if you have selected the "Stiffened" option for the Reference Plate. Here, you can define the material and thickness of the stiffening plate(s), as well as its/their position and shape.
Use the "Position" options to move the stiffener along the reference member: "Upper", "Lower", "Center", or "Both". The "Member plate" option enables you to align the stiffener with the connected member plates.
The "Direction" options allow you to choose whether the stiffener is inserted parallel to the connected member, or perpendicular to the reference member. If you want to move the stiffener in the direction parallel to the center line of the reference member, you can define the adequate "Location offset".
Use the "Side" options to define whether the reference member should be stiffened on both sides or only on the side of the reference plate. The "Chamfer" options enable you to modify the corners of the stiffener(s).
Bolts
This category manages the properties of the bolts.
Define the bolt diameter and bolt class in the first row by selecting the adequate entries from the lists.
In the next two rows, you can define the spacing of the bolts with respect to the horizontal and vertical directions.
If activating the "Shear plane in thread" option, the lower strength (reduced area) according to the selected design standard is considered for the bolt shear check.
Welds
The last category controls the welds for the individual parts of the end plate. If you clear a check box, this weld will not be applied.
When you select the space to the right of the check box, you will find a list from which you can choose the type of weld. There are several types of fillet welds and butt welds available.
For fillet welds, each thickness has to be defined. If you use a stiffener, one weld setting is used for all of its edges.