Continuing Education
In This Section
Night School OLD Current Course
Night School is a curriculum of courses on structural steel design and construction topics. Each course consists of eight sessions presented as ninety minute webinars. There are two ways to register for Night School, either as an eight session package or as individual webinars.
Looking for Night School 14: Fundamentals of Stability? View Past Course Details for quiz and attendance information.
Night School 15 - Fundamentals of Connection Design
Based the the 2016 AISC Specification and Steel Construction Manual, 15th Ed.
The Fundamentals of Connections Design, based on the 2016 AISC Specification and Steel Construction Manual, 15th Ed., provides an overview of typical connections including advantages and disadvantages of each connection type, a review of member, bolt and weld limit states, design methodologies for shear, moment and brace connections and design examples. Connection types included are shear end-plate, double angle, single angle, shear tab, tee, and seated connections, flange welded-web bolted, flange plate-web bolted, flange teestub-web bolted, and end-plate moment connections, bracing connections and seismic connections.
Registration Options
8-Session Package |
Individual Sessions |
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Registration |
No longer available | Register |
| Sessions Included | (8) 90 minute sessions | (1) 90 minute session |
| PDH Credits |
Up to 12 PDHs (1.5 PDHs per attended session) |
1.5 PDHs per webinar |
| PDH Certificates Issued |
Registrant only |
Unlimited per connection |
| EEU credits1 | 1 EEU certificate upon passing 7 of 8 quizzes + final exam and attending all sessions | Not available |
| Attendance2 | "Make up" (recorded) sessions available online for three weeks after air date | Live only |
| Recording Access | Available online for three weeks after air date. Email with link sent two days after session. | Not available |
| Quiz Access | Available through My AISC account two days after session. | Not available |
| Access to PDF file of presentation file prior to each session | Included | Included |
| Price Per Connection | ||
| Member | $500 | $185 |
| Non-member | $900 | $285 |
| Full-time Student/ Full-time Faculty | $250 | $155 |
| Public Agency Employee | $500 | $155 |
1 EEU-Equivalent Education Unit. Eight session registrants who attend all sessions (live or recorded) and pass 7 of 8 quizzes and the final exam will be awarded 1.0 EEU. Earning an EEU is worth a maximum of 12 PDHs.
2 Registrants who watch the recorded version (available for 8-session package registrants only) must take and pass a quiz in order to receive PDHs.
Substitutions and Cancellations: Substitutions can be made at any time. Eight Session package registration cancellations received 1-3 days prior to Session 1 will be charged a $150 service charge. Cancellations and no shows the day of Session 1 and later will not receive a refund. Individual session registration 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.
Sessions
Session 1 - October 3: Fundamental Concepts, Part 1
This live webinar provides an overview of basic connection types including tension, compression, framing, and moment connections. Classification of beam-to-column connections are discussed, followed by a review of limit states in the load path. Bolt related limit states and detailing are reviewed with discussions on different types of bolts, bolt installation, bolt shear strength, and combined shear plus tension strength. Basic fillet weld related limit states are also discussed.
Session 2 - October 10: Fundamental Concepts, Part 2
This live webinar discusses eccentric bolted and welded connections, direct loaded tension connections, block shear, the Whitmore Section, and light bracing connections. Beam bearing and column base plate design is also discussed. Design examples are presented to demonstrate concepts.
Session 3 - October 17: Shear Connections, Part 1
This live webinar provides an overview of various types of shear connections, including the advantages and disadvantages of each. Design considerations for shear connections, a review of limit states for block shear and flexural strength in coped beams are presented. Shear end-plate and double angle connection designs are also discussed. Design examples are presented to demonstrate the concepts.
Session 4 - October 24: Shear Connections, Part 2
This live webinar covers single plate connection design, including both conventional and extended single plate connections. The differences between the two are contrasted in design examples. The design of single angle connections, stiffened and unstiffened seated connections are also discussed. The presentation of stiffened seated connections includes a discussion on a simplified approach.
Session 5 - November 7: Moment Connections, Part 1
This live webinar covers wind and low seismic moment connection design. Various moment connections are discussed including flange welded-web bolted connections, flange plate welded-web bolted connections, and flange plate bolted-web bolted connections. Column side limit states are discussed, along with a complete design example.
Session 6 - November 14: Moment Connections, Part 2
This live webinar covers the basics of prying as needed for the design of connections where prying forces are a concern. Tee-stub-web bolted moment connections and end-plate moment connections are discussed. Column side limit states for these connections are presented. Design examples are included.
Session 7 - November 28: Introduction to Seismic Connections
This live webinar provides an overview of seismic connections for engineers that don’t typically perform seismic design. Concepts about ductile mechanisms and capacity design are presented. Qualification requirements for special and intermediate moment frame connections will be discussed in addition to an introduction to the nine connection types that have been prequalified. Requirements for concentrically braced frames will be discussed.
Session 8 - December 5: Bracing Connections and More
This live webinar presents information on light and heavy bracing connections and discusses the differences and similarities between the two. Typical details for light and heavy connections are presented. Member, bolt and weld limit states are reviewed. The presentation also demonstrates the use of the Uniform Force Method for designing bracing connections. Poor designs and field problems are described.
Quiz and Attendance records
Quiz Answers
Quiz 1: 1. d, 2. c, 3. d, 4. c, 5. d, 6. b, 7. a, 8. c, 9. a, 10. b Quiz 1 PDF
Quiz 2: 1. d, 2. a, 3. a, 4. b, 5. c, 6. c, 7. b, 8. d, 9. b, 10. b Quiz 2 PDF
Quiz 3: 1. a, 2. c, 3. a, 4. c, 5. d, 6. d, 7. a, 8. d, 9. b, 10. c Quiz 3 PDF
Quiz 4: 1. d, 2. c, 3. c, 4. a, 5. d, 6. a, 7. b, 8. c, 9. b, 10. a Quiz 4 PDF
Quiz 5: 1. c, 2.d , 3. a, 4. c, 5. b, 6. c, 7. d, 8. b, 9. a, 10. d Quiz 5 PDF
Quiz 6: 1. b, 2. d, 3. b, 4. c, 5. c, 6. b, 7. d, 8. a, 9. b, 10. a Quiz 6 PDF
Quiz 7: 1. b, 2. a, 3. b, 4. a, 5. b, 6. d, 7. a, 8. c, 9. d, 10. d Quiz 7 PDF
Quiz 8: 1. b, 2. d, 3. a, 4. b, 5. c, 6. a, 7. c, 8. d, 9. b, 10. c Quiz 8 PDF
Final Exam:
Part 1: 1. j, 2. g, 3. f, 4. a, 5. c, 6. b, 7. e, 8. h, 9. d, 10. i
Part 2: 1. e, 2. d, 3. h, 4. i, 5. c, 6. a, 7. j, 8. g, 9. f, 10. b
Part 3: 1. h, 2. e, 3. g, 4. b, 5. i, 6. j, 7. c, 8. f, 9. a, 10. d
Attendance and Quiz Scores
Thomas M. Murray
Dr. Thomas M. Murray is an Emeritus Professor at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.
Matthew R. Eatherton
Matthew R. Eatherton is an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.