Steel Buildings in Europe

Part 11: Moment Connections 11 - 11 Table 2.1 Basic joint components in a portal frame eaves connection Stiffness coefficient Joint component k 1 column web panel in shear k 2 column web in compression k 3 column web in tension k 4 column flange in bending k 5 end plate in bending k 10 bolts in tension For a joint with two or more rows of bolts, the basic components for each row should be represented by a single equivalent stiffness, k eq . For a beam-to- column joint with an end plate connection, this equivalent stiffness is determined using k 3 , k 4 , k 5 and k 10 for each individual bolt row, and an equivalent lever arm. (see EN 1993-1-8, § 6.3.3.1(4)). Table 6.11 of EN 1993-1-1 indicates how the individual stiffness coefficients should be determined. 2.2 Classification boundaries Classification boundaries are given in EN 1993-1-8 § 5.2.2.5. They depend on the initial stiffness, S j,ini , the second moment of area of the beam, I b , the length of the beam, l b and a factor, k b that depends on the stiffness of the frame. Joints are classified as rigid when b b b j,ini k EI l S  Thus, for a given initial stiffness S j,ini , a minimum beam length, l b , may be calculated such that the joint is classified as rigid. This is the basis for the minimum lengths given in Section 4.