Posted by  Paul Malo on January 09, 2002 at 10:18:37:

In Reply to:  Re: SurePlate steel building connections WTC??-bottom chord posted by d on January 09, 2002 at 09:31:44:

The connections you have sketched are "slip" connections, designed to allow lateral movement of the wall without inducing the sort of rotational stress mentioned previously, where the truss would actually serve to resist horizontal movement. This is why this connection would be used in earthquake design, where the lateral movement can destroy a builting. Better to let the wall move and bounce back than to have it take the roof with it (which might not bounce back).

So why are these connections of the bottom chord used at all? Not to transfer any of the vertical load, I assume, since usual truss design would direct all of the load to the top, bearing connection. If not to resist horizontal stress, but indeed designed to yiedl to it, what's the purpose of the connector? Perhaps merely to avert horizontal rotation of the truss itself, the bottom chord swinging laterally as the truss is loaded. Bridging at intervals between trusses also serves this purpose.

Responses:

• PS Paul Malo 10:20:28 1/09/2002 (0)

Post a Response -