Estevez, Humberto

From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:

DeLashmit, Mike
Thursday, June 02, 2016 4:52 PM
Estevez, Humberto; Diaz, Eddy
DeLashmit, Mike
AISC response to my question on allowable gaps.

Both slip-critical and bearing connections require the connection to be snug-tight. For slip-critical connections, the
connection must first be made snug-tight before applying pretension. Snug-tight is defined in the RCSC Specification as
the condition that exists when all the plies in a connection have been pulled into firm contact by the bolts in the joint and
all of the bolts in the joint have been tightened sufficiently to prevent the removal of the nuts without the use of a
wrench. Firm contact is defined as The condition that exists on a faying surface when the plies are solidly seated
against each other, but not necessarily in continuous contact. So both slip-critical and bearing connections are required
to be in firm contact. Minimal gaps to a certain degree are permitted to remain, although how one goes about determining
what is acceptable is based on engineering judgment concerning connection demands. The behavior of slip-critical and
bearing connections are different which will likely affect how an engineer evaluates a gap in a slip-critical connection vs. a
bearing connection as being acceptable or not.

Michael A. DeLashmit
Associate
Thornton Tomasetti
51 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10010
T +1.917.861.8271 F +1.917.661.7801
M +1.917.861.8271
MDelashmit@ThorntonTomasetti.com
www.ThorntonTomasetti.com