SidePlate Successfully Tests HSS Columns With B/T Ratio of 21 on Field Bolted Bi-Axial SMF ConnectionESSFULLY TESTS HSS COLUMNS WITH B/T RATIO OF 21 ON FIELD BOLTED BI-AXIAL SMF CONNECTION
Mission Viejo, CA – SidePlate Systems, the industry leader and expert in steel building design optimization, is proud to announce a huge step forward in steel moment frame connection testing by successfully completing four full-scale tests on one HSS20x20x7/8 column and one SidePlate Bi-Axial connection.
Over the course of the last two months, SidePlate has had a 20”-square HSS column—available through Atlas Tube—set up at the UCSD (University of California at San Diego) test lab with a SidePlate Field Bolted Bi-Axial connection on it. The tests were done to validate extensive FEA (Finite Element Analysis) done in the SidePlate R&D Department that suggested a new connection configuration using HSS columns would allow SidePlate designs to offer even greater flexibility and versatility for open space areas along with an increased resiliency effort.
When the tests were completed, four beams of varying dimensions were successfully deformed with no discernable column deformation. As President/CEO Henry Gallart explained, “we can confidently state that our field bolted SMF connection can work, resiliently, even in jumbo HSS sizes like the all-new HSS20x20x7/8 column without concrete infill.”
While high seismic testing may not be a factor in every area of the country, SidePlate conducts our validation at the highest levels, ensuring the safest, strongest and surely, the most resilient connection designs in the industry.
