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Night School 28

Vertical Bracing Connections

From first principles to design

presented by: William Thornton, Rafael Sabelli, and Carol Drucker

Night School is back with a course on vertical bracing connections! Starting April 5, the course will begin with basic principles and take you through several detailed examples. William Thornton will lead the first five sessions. He’ll walk you through topics like limit states, basic principles, the uniform force method, prying action, and show how to apply to real-world examples. Then, Rafael Sabelli will present on corner connections and chevron connections, each with a seismic design emphasis. Carol Drucker rounds out the course with a look at a couple of case studies and other topics.

Sharpen a new pencil and join us for AISC Night School 28!

  • Date: 4/5/2022 - 5/24/2022
  • Duration: 1.5 hours per session
  • Location: Night School
  • PDH Credits: 1.5 PDH per session (up to 12.0 PDH)
  • Registration Deadline: 4/19/2022 8:00 p.m.

  • Connection Instructions: Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email containing your receipt and information on how to join the Night School sessions.

Registration

Quick Registration

Individual Live Sessions

 

$185  Member
$285  Non-member
$155  Student/Faculty
$155  Government Employee

Prices are per webinar.  Registration includes certificates for an unlimited number of people at one connection site. Work From Home accomodations are available for this registration option.

No access to recordings.

 Register
8-Session Package 

 

$500  Member
$900  Non-member
$250  Student/Faculty
$500  Government Employee

 Registration includes a certificate for the registrant only. Work From Home accomodations are NOT available for this registration option.

Includes access to recordings.

 Register

Addtional registration information found at bottom of page.

Sessions

Session 1: Basic Principles

April 5, 2022 -- 7:00-8:30 p.m. EDT

This session will introduce the course, discuss the limit states related to connection design as well as explore the methods of specifying connections as described in the AISC Code of Standard Practice.  The session will then discuss that connection design is based on first principles, without the aid of complex computer models and with little codification.  It will address the three basic principles of structural mechanics: equilibrium, constitutive equations (limit states), and compatibility.  The presentation will then focus on the Lower Bound Theorem and look at it from a practical approach: satisfying equilibrium, not exceeding any limit states, and taking measures to ensure ductility. A simplified example demonstrating the concepts of the Lower Bound Theorem will be presented.

Session 2: Uniform Force Method, Part 1

April 12, 2022 -- 7:00-8:30 p.m. EDT

A vertical brace connection is a highly indeterminate system.  The Uniform Force Method is presented as one statically admissible force distribution in which no moments exist at the connection interfaces.  This session will discuss the Uniform Force Method procedure as detailed in the 15th Edition of the AISC Steel Construction Manual.  

April 19, 2022 -- 7:00-8:30 p.m. EDT

In this session the advantages and disadvantages of three different types of common bracing details will be discussed.  For two of the three types of details presented prying action is an important consideration.  This session also will include a discussion of prying action and its application in design.

April 26, 2022 -- 7:00-8:30 p.m. EDT

The various steps and methodologies used for bracing connection design will be highlighted as the presenter works through a design example.  Practical design tips will be discussed as well as addressing common design challenges.

May 3, 2022 -- 7:00-8:30 p.m. EDT

This session will look at two cases of the uniform force method: Special Case IV, and the Bypass Method. A design example will be presented to demonstrate applicability.

May 10, 2022 -- 7:00-8:30 p.m. EDT

The various steps and methodologies used for bracing connection design will be highlighted as the presenter works through a seisimic design example.  The session will  discuss the requirements for Special Concentrically Braced Frame (SCBF) and Buckling Restrained Braced Frame (BRBF) connections.  It review the several alternatives for the gusset plate design: linear hinge, elliptical hinge and rotated gusset. Finally, a design example will be presented to demonstrate applicability.

Session 7: Chevron Gusset Connection

May 17, 2022 -- 7:00-8:30 p.m. EDT

This session will review brace-to-beam connections away from the beam-to-column joint. Focusing on seismic force resisting systems where the brace vertical components are unequal, the presentation will demonstrate how to derive the forces imparted to the beam and evaluate the beam strength for those forces. It will also provide practical guidance on how the gusset plate geometry or stiffeners may be chosen to avoid beam web reinforcement.

May 24, 2022 -- 7:00-8:30 p.m. EDT

Beyond meeting the requirements of the Specification and Seismic Provisions, the demands of the fabricator will also influence the design of a connection.  Topics such as field welding vs field bolting, eliminating doublers, and more will be examined. This session looks at how the practice of connection design plays out in a couple of case studies.  

Quiz and Attendance Records

Quiz Answers

View Answers to Night School 28 Quizzes.

Quiz 1: 1. c, 2. d, 3. c, 4. c, 5. d, 6. a, 7. c, 8. d, 9. d, 10. b Quiz PDF
Quiz 2: 1. a, 2. b, 3. b, 4. a, 5. a, 6. a, 7. a, 8. b, 9. a, 10. b, Quiz PDF
Quiz 3: 1. a, 2, b, 3. b, 4. a, 5. b, 6. a, 7. b, 8. a, 9. a, 10. b Quiz PDF
Quiz 4: 1. c, 2. b, 3. a, 4. b, 5. a, 6. a, 7. a, 8. b, 9. b, 10. b Quiz PDF
Quiz 5: 1. a, 2. b, 3. c, 4. a, 5. a, 6. b, 7. a, 8. a, 9. b, 10. a Quiz PDF
Quiz 6: 1. d, 2. a, 3. b, 4. c, 5. c, 6. a, 7. a, 8. a, 9. d, 10. d Quiz PDF
Quiz 7: 1. c, 2. a, 3. a, 4. c, 5. b, 6. b, 7. b, 8. b, 9. a, 10. b Quiz PDF
Quiz 8: 1. d, 2. a, 3. b, 4. b, 5. c, 6. c, 7. b, 8. b, 9. d, 10. b Quiz PDF
Final Exam: 1. d, 2. d, 3. b, 4. b, 5. a, 6. d, 7. d, 8. a, 9. b, 10. a, 11. d, 12. c, 13. a, 14. d, 15. a, 16. c, 17. a, 18. d, 19. c, 20. b, 21. c, 22. d, 23. b 24. d Quiz PDF


 

 

 
 
 

Quiz Scores and Attendance

View attendance and quiz scores for 8-session package registrants of Night School 26.

Quiz and Attendance Records 07/07/2022

Speakers

William A. Thornton

William A. Thornton

William A. Thornton is Corporate Consultant and Vice President for Cives Engineering Corporation in Roswell, GA.

Rafael Sabelli

Rafael Sabelli, SE

Rafael is a Principal and Director of Seismic Design at Walter P Moore.

Carol Drucker

Carol Drucker, PE, SE

Carol Drucker is Prinicpal of Drucker Zajdel Structural Engineers in Chicago, IL.

Registration

Price Info

Individual Live Sessions

 

$185  Member
$285  Non-member
$155  Student/Faculty
$155  Government Employee

Prices are per webinar.  Registration includes certificates for an unlimited number of people at one connection site. Work From Home accomodations are available for this registration option.

 Register
8-Session Package 

 

$500  Member
$900  Non-member
$250  Student/Faculty
$500  Government Employee

 Registration includes a certificate for the registrant only. Work From Home accomodations are NOT available for this registration option.

 Register
Accommodations for Stay-at-home and Safer-at-home orders

In light of the recent changes to daily work life, we understand that many people are working from home at this time. If the individual live sessions registration is the preferred choice for your company, we will accommodate each attendee who would typically gather in your office conference room. Once you've registered for the individual live sessions option, Once you've registered for the individual webinars option, you will have the option to add your employees to the registration.
Substitutions and Cancellations

Substitutions may be made at any time. Cancellations received 1-3 days prior to the webinar will be charged a $50 service charge. Cancellations and no shows the day of the webinar session will not receive a refund.