Splice Theory Question

waveformeng · 2025-06-19T20:04:05+0100

I have a solid rectangular steel plate subjected to shear and bending along its length. It needs to be spliced between the supports and its not possible to locate the splice at locations of zero moment. The attached image shows the proposed splice detail. How would you go about designing the number of screws and screw spacing in this situation to transfer shear and moment across the splice? I know how to do a shear flow calculation, but doesn't that just resolve the shear component? What about bending moment?

Stress_Eng · 2025-06-19T23:27:04+0100

I think you'll have something like this.

Edit
As SWComposites highlights, the moment is resolved into a 'tension' & 'compression' couple. The approach shown in the above FBD takes moments about the contact abutment point Pa (compression) and assumes the bolts take the tension, proportioned relative to distance from the abutment point. You could assume T2=0 (single tension couple).

waveformeng · 2025-06-19T23:42:20+0100

Thank you! Just needed a gut check. In the time that it took for this post to be approved, I set up a spreadsheet to do exactly this. Appreciate you taking the time to put that together.

SWComposites · 2025-06-20T00:16:23+0100

there is also shear transfer due to the moment. resolve the moment into a tension / compression couple at the centerlines of the two thinner sections, then transfer that load across the joint in shear.

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Splice Theory Question

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