How does a beam web opening can influence the rotational stiffness of the connection and the code checks?

Before IDEA StatiCa, that was a really tough question to answer for anyone, and only with the use of sophisticated non-linear analysis software – and lot’s of hours – someone could reach a safe conclusion.

In a quick test we did on a Beam-to-beam eccentric end plate connection, we saw a 10% decrease of rotational stiffness by introducing a web opening. Depending on the loading, this could lead to a significant change in its behaviour, and therefore further investigation in the overall design could be required.

With IDEA StatiCa, such questions can be answered within minutes, with a safe and code-compliant way!