Skewed Shear Connections are Now Available in RISAConnection v12!

RISAConnection Version 12 now supports skewed shear tab connections. With this enhancement, engineers have the option to skew a wide flange, a tapered wide flange or a channel beam with the following supporting members:

• Wide Flange Column

• Tapered Wide Flange Column

• Tube Column

• Wide Flange Girder

To do this, a new Beam Skew option has been added under the Connection Category in the Connection Properties panel. Beams may be skewed left or right in the horizontal plane.

Once a skew direction has been selected, you may specify the angle of the skew. The skew angle can be set between 0 and 45 degrees in RISAConnection and will be designed per AISC guidelines.

When specifying a skewed connection, additional 2D views become available allowing users to review the connection layout from a top view.

Another important consideration when designing skewed connections is the size of the fillet welds. As the skew angle of the beam becomes more acute, two different weld sizes (on either side of the plate) may need to be specified in order to maintain the required capacity.

You can modify the fillet weld sizes in the Column or Girder Weld section of the Connection Properties. The program will then calculate the weld strength of each weld using the geometric properties of the weld.

Finally, when a skewed connection is specified, RISAConnection can check the requirements of a beveled shear plate. The option to bevel a plate is found in the Components Section of the Connection Properties. Once, the bevel is set, a check is performed and details can be found in the Column Weld Limitations section of the report. RISAConnection limits the root opening to 3/16” per AWS guidelines.

For more information about how to design skewed shear connections in RISAConnection, check out our RISA Live session on the subject: