Field Splices Settings

The tables shown below defines the various field splice setting values.

Settings: General

General Tab

Setting

Description

Bolt

Diameter	Select the bolt diameter from the dropdown list.
Material	Select the bolt material from the dropdown list.

Gap between left and right cross section

Free distance between left and right cross section.

Maximum allowable fatigue stress range

Enter the maximum allowable fatigue stress range. The default is 75% of the actual stress range.

Minimum design strength

Enter the minimum design strength. The default is 75% of the factored flexural, shear or axial resistance of the member.

Surface condition

Select the surface condition from the drop-down list.

Hole reduction factor

This is the hole size factor (K_h) in equation 6.13.2.8-1. The default value is 1.0. Refer to Table 6.13.2.8-2 for values used for other hole types.

Hybrid reduction factors

Enter reduction factors for top and bottom of left and right cross section.

The reduction factors accounts for the reduced contribution of the web to the nominal flexural resistance at first yield in any flange element, due to earlier yielding of the lower strength steel in the web of a hybrid section.

Nominal shear resistance

Enter the nominal shear resistance. By default the system will calculate this resistance as 0.58F_ywDt_w .

Settings: Web splice

Web Splice

Setting	Description
Distance from top of splice plate to inside of top flange	Distance value between top flange inside and top of web splice plate. Note: If in Design mode and the edit box is grayed out it means Update data after design’’ option is active, for manual value uncheck the Update data after design’’ box and insert custom value. If in Check mode this edit field will be active so the specific field splice distance can be defined.
Distance from bottom of splice plate to inside of bottom flange	Enter the distance between inside of the bottom flange and the bottom of web splice plate.
Horizontal edge distance	Enter the distance from the last vertical row of bolts to the plate edge.
Horizontal cross over distance	Enter the distance between the first vertical bolt columns on the left section and the first bolt column on the right section.
Number of bolts (Vert.)	This is the number of bolts in each vertical column on each side of the splice. Note: If the edit box is grayed out it means the splice is in Design mode and the Update data after design’’ option is checked. For manual input uncheck the box and insert custom value. If in Check mode this edit field will be active so the specific field splice data can be defined.
Horizontal column spacing	Enter the spacing between vertical bolt columns.
Plate material	Select plate material type.
Include bolt threads in shear plane	Check this box to include bolt threads in the shear plane for web splice design/checking. Uncheck to exclude bolt threads from the shear plane
Vertical edge distance	Enter the distance between last top/bottom row of bolts and the edge of the web splice plate.
Min. web splice plate thickness	Enter the minimum plate thickness to be used for the web splice plate when in Design mode. The field splice plate optimization will not consider plates with lesser thickness. If in Check mode, this is the actual thickness of the web splice plate.
Number of bolts (Horz.)	This is the number of bolts in each horizontal row on each side of the splice plate. Note: If the edit box is grayed out it means the splice is in Design mode and the Update data after design’’ option is checked. For manual input uncheck the box and insert custom value. If in Check mode this edit field will be active so the specific field splice data can be defined.
Vertical row spacing (min)	Enter the minimum value for spacing between horizontal rows when in Design mode. If in Check mode this is the actual vertical row spacing.
Vertical row spacing (max)	Enter maximum value for spacing between horizontal rows when in Design mode. This field has no effect when in Check mode.

Settings: Flange splice

Flange splice – Top flange design

Setting	Description
Longitudinal edge distance	Enter the distance between the last longitudinal row of bolts edge of plate.
Transverse edge distance	Enter the distance between the last transverse row of bolts and nearest edge of plate.
Outside plate min. thickness	Enter the minimum thickness of the outside splice plate.
Inside plate min. thickness	Enter the minimum thickness of the inside splice plate.
Longitudinal crossover distance	Enter the distance between the longitudinal rows of bolts on each side of the splice centerline.
Transverse crossover distance	Enter the distance between the transverse rows of bolts on each side of the splice centerline.
Number of bolt rows	Enter the number of bolt rows parallel to the member centerline.
Number of bolt columns	Enter the number of bolt rows perpendicular to the member axis on either side of the splice centerline. Note: If the edit box is grayed out it means the splice is in Design mode and the Update data after design’’ option is checked. For manual input uncheck the box and insert custom value. If in Check mode this edit field will be active so the specific field splice data can be defined.
Longitudinal column spacing	Enter the spacing of the bolt columns (rows) that are perpendicular to the member centerline.
Transversal row spacing	Enter value for spacing between rows of bolts that are parallel to the member centerline.
Width of inner plate	Enter the width of the inner splice plate.
Plate material	Select plate material from the dropdown list.

Flange Splice – Bottom flange design

Setting	Description
Longitudinal edge distance	Enter the distance between the last longitudinal row of bolts edge of plate.
Transverse edge distance	Enter the distance between the last transverse row of bolts and nearest edge of plate.
Outside plate min. thickness	Enter the minimum thickness of the outside splice plate.
Inside plate min. thickness	Enter the minimum thickness of the inside splice plate.
Longitudinal crossover distance	Enter the distance between the longitudinal rows of bolts on each side of the splice centerline.
Transverse crossover distance	Enter the distance between the transverse rows of bolts on each side of the splice centerline.
Number of bolt rows	Enter the number of bolt rows parallel to the member centerline.
Number of bolt columns	Enter the number of bolt rows perpendicular to the member axis on either side of the splice centerline. Note: If the edit box is grayed out it means the splice is in Design mode and the Update data after design’’ option is checked. For manual input uncheck the box and insert custom value. If in Check mode this edit field will be active so the specific field splice data can be defined
Longitudinal column spacing	Enter the spacing of the bolt columns (rows) that are perpendicular to the member centerline.
Transversal row spacing	Enter value for spacing between rows of bolts that are parallel to the member centerline.
Width of inner plate	Enter the width of the inner splice plate.
Plate material	Select the plate material from the dropdown list.

General Items

Setting	Description
Use defaults	Press this button to reset all setting values to defaults. The default settings are defined on the main Field Splice dialog by pressing the Default settings button ()
Include bolt threads in shear plane	Check this box to include bolt threads in the shear plane for web splice design/checking. Uncheck to exclude bolt threads from the shear plane
Design/Check	Design option will run automatic optimization of the field splice. Plate thicknesses are iterated from the minimum values as specified on the Settings dialog for each splice. Check option will check the user entered field splice as per the AASHTO specification. Note that for Design and Check, all load combinations defined on the LEAP Bridge Steel Loads dialog are included.
Update data after design	If Design mode is selected, select this option to update all pertinent settings data after Design if checked (i.e. splice plate sizes, number of bolts, etc.), if Check option is selected option is not available.
OK	Press this button to save the field splice design options and exit the dialog.
Cancel	Press this button to exit the dialog without saving field splice design option information.