> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://calcs.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# HSS Beam to HSS Girder Shear Connection
> Design and check shear connections where an HSS beam frames into the side of an HSS girder, to AISC 360-22 and AISC Design Guide 24.
**Where you can use this:** [Atlas Tube HSS Connections Hub](https://connectionshub.atlastube.com/login/organisations?src=CALCSDOCS) only
**Status:** Beta · **Region:** US · **Design codes:** AISC 360-22, AISC Steel Construction Manual (16th ed.), AISC Design Guide 24
## What this calculator does
Sizes and checks a single-sided shear connection between an HSS beam and an HSS girder, to AISC 360-22, the AISC Steel Construction Manual (16th edition) and AISC Design Guide 24.
Framing an HSS beam into an HSS girder rather than a column is standard in transfer and podium framing, and it introduces limit states a column connection never needs: the girder carries its own axial load, it can twist under the eccentric beam reaction, and its walls need a slenderness classification at the connection. Before this calculator those checks had to be hand-built by combining the beam-to-column procedure with Design Guide 24's chord-stress and axial interaction tables.
## Video walkthrough
This video covers the coped shear connection into an HSS **column**. The girder presets below add the girder-side limit states on top of the same beam-side procedure.
## Choosing a preset
Five presets share the same template. Pick the one that matches your detail before entering geometry.
| Preset | Detail | Fastener |
| -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Coped beam | Beam coped at its end, plates welded to the girder face sit against the interior faces of the cope | Blind fastener, Shuriken-compatible diameters |
| Single plate | Bolted single plate (shear tab), no cope | Blind fastener, Shuriken-compatible diameters |
| Exterior plates | Plate pair sits outside the girder wall rather than inside it | Blind fastener, Shuriken-compatible diameters |
| Through bolt and coped beam | Coped beam, interior plates, bolts pass through both plates and both beam walls | Conventional through bolt, full ASTM F3125 range |
| Through bolt and exterior plates | Uncoped beam, plates lap the exterior faces, bolts pass through both plates and both walls | Conventional through bolt, full ASTM F3125 range |
The through-bolt presets exist because there is no accessible back face inside a closed section. A proprietary blind fastener solves the access problem but restricts you to a narrow diameter range with longer lead times and higher unit cost. A through bolt is cheaper and more available, and capacity is governed by bolt shear rather than a slip-resistance limit state.
## Inputting key properties
1. **Select the preset and connection type.** This sets which geometry inputs appear below.
2. **Set the plate configuration.** Conventional or Extended, per AISC Steel Construction Manual Part 10. Extended unlocks multiple bolt rows, variable spacing, out-of-plane moment on the girder, and the combined axial, shear and flexure interaction indices.
3. **Choose the girder and beam HSS sections and grade.** The girder can be rotated in both the top and side views to match field conditions.
4. **Enter cope dimensions** (coped presets only): cope height and cope length.
5. **Enter plate geometry:** thickness, width, vertical length, and beam setback.
6. **Enter weld size.**
7. **Enter bolt properties:** size, grade, thread condition, vertical and horizontal spacing, edge distances. On blind-fastener presets the diameter list is restricted to Shuriken-compatible sizes. On exterior-plate presets the sheet also checks plate-to-plate spacing and the clearance needed for the bolt heads on the exterior faces.
## Applying loads
Enter either individual load types, swept through the ASCE 7 combinations automatically, or pre-factored demands under LRFD or ASD.
Available demands:
* Factored shear in the beam
* Factored axial tension and compression in the girder (extended plate configuration)
* Torsion demand in the girder (extended plate configuration)
Governing load combinations are tracked separately for tension and for compression.
### Girder torsion restraint
The sheet carries a **Girder Restrained Against Torsion?** toggle. Torsion resistance is checked under AISC 360-22 Section H3.1, and once torsion demand exceeds roughly 20% of capacity the sheet raises an H3.1 / H3.2 interaction note.
## Reviewing the calculations
### Girder-side limit states
| Limit state | Reference |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| HSS wall slenderness classification | AISC 360-22 width-to-thickness table |
| Girder wall local yielding, with chord-stress interaction parameter | AISC Design Guide 24 Table 8-2A limits of applicability |
| Girder shear yielding (punching shear) at the connection | AISC 360-22 Chapter K |
| Girder torsion resistance | AISC 360-22 Section H3.1, interaction per H3.2 |
| Girder axial capacity and interaction | AISC Design Guide 24 Table 8-2 branches |
### Beam-side and connection limit states
| Limit state | Reference |
| ------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------- |
| Cope local buckling and shear rupture at the reduced section | AISC Steel Construction Manual |
| HSS beam yielding and rupture across the coped section | AISC 360-22 J4.1, J4.3 |
| Bolt shear | AISC 360-22 J3.7 |
| Bolt bearing and tearout, through plates and beam walls | AISC 360-22 J3.11 |
| Plate shear yielding and rupture | AISC 360-22 J4.2 |
| Plate tensile and compressive yielding and rupture | AISC 360-22 J4.1, J4.3 |
| Block shear, plate and beam | AISC 360-22 J4.3 |
| Base metal strength at beam and girder | AISC 360-22 J2.4 |
| Fillet weld capacity, directional strength method | AISC 360-22 J2.4 and Manual Part 8 |
| Combined axial, shear and flexure interaction indices | Extended configuration only |
## Reading the results
Results report as governing demand-to-capacity ratios grouped by element. The connection detail diagram reflects the cope, the plate position (interior or exterior), the through-bolt or blind-fastener group, and the rotated girder geometry.
## Assumptions and exclusions
* Single-sided connections only.
* Where the girder is not restrained against torsion, the torsion check governs more often than engineers expect. Check the toggle matches your framing.
* Blind-fastener presets are limited to Shuriken-compatible bolt diameters by design, not by code.
## Related
* [HSS to HSS torsion connection](/docs/connections_hub/calculators/hss_to_hss_torsion_end_plate)
* [Column bracing to shear connection linking](/docs/connections_hub/workflows/column_bracing_linking)
**Where you can use this:** [Atlas Tube HSS Connections Hub](https://connectionshub.atlastube.com/login/organisations?src=CALCSDOCS) only
**Status:** Beta · **Region:** US · **Design codes:** AISC 360-22, AISC Steel Construction Manual (16th ed.), AISC Design Guide 24