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Atlas TubeAtlas TubeWhere you can use this: Atlas Tube HSS Connections Hub onlyStatus: Beta · Region: US · Design codes: AISC 360-22

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What this calculator does

The Column Bracing Connection calculator supports several gusset configurations. This article covers the two double gusset options, where the brace force is too high for a single plate and is shared across two. The defining behaviour in both: every interface demand is halved per plate before being checked against capacity. Doing that by hand across the bolts, the angles or shear tab, both gusset plates, the beam interface and the column face is where the errors creep in. Other configurations in the same calculator, unaffected by these presets: Welded Slotted, Bolted Single Slotted Splice, Bolted Knife Plate, Claw Plate. There is a video on the Claw Plate brace connection if that is the configuration you need.

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Video walkthrough

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Internal Double Gusset

In this configuration the brace connects to the joint using two gusset plates attached to splice plates.

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Inputting key properties

  1. Select the Internal Double Gusset preset.
  2. Enter the HSS column and beam sections and grades.
  3. Enter the brace section, grade and angle.
  4. Set the brace framing configuration. The brace can run to the column, to the beam, or to both.
  5. Enter gusset plate thickness, geometry and slot arrangement.
  6. Enter splice plate and shear tab (single plate) geometry.
  7. Enter bolt size, grade and layout.
  8. Enter weld sizes.
  9. Select ASD or LRFD.
The calculator takes the load applied to the brace and derives the corresponding demand for each connection component.

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Limit states

All checks use per-plate demands.

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Summary of Demands

A dedicated section shows both the total interface demands and the per-plate values side by side, so the load split is visible rather than implied.

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External Double Gusset

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Inputting key properties

  1. Select External Double Gusset under type of bracing.
  2. Enter the beam, column, brace and angle sections, their grades, and the rotation of each profile.
  3. Enter gusset plate and single plate dimensions and thickness.
  4. Enter bolt number, diameter and layout, and weld sizes.
  5. Enter the loads on the brace and the loads into the connection.
The sheet checks whether there is physically enough space to combine the sections you have chosen. If the profiles will not fit together, that is flagged at input rather than surfacing later as a geometry problem on the shop drawing.

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Limit states

Demand is split as half the brace force per plate.

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Reading the results

Results are reported per limit state with ASD and LRFD demand-to-capacity ratios, grouped into brace capacity, angle capacity, gusset plate capacity, bolt capacity, single plate capacity, weld capacity and column capacity. The governing value is surfaced in the Summary of Capacities below the diagram.

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Assumptions and exclusions

The External Double Gusset configuration is released as a beta calculator with numerical validation still to follow. Treat results as provisional and check governing cases independently.
  • Load is assumed to split equally between the two plates.