Limitations when using Tekla Connection Designer with Tekla Structural Designer

Tekla Structural Designer
2021
Tekla Structural Designer

Limitations when using Tekla Connection Designer with Tekla Structural Designer

General

  • The analysis results used for the connection design follow the selection (1st order or 2nd order) made on the Analysis page of the Tekla Structural Designer Design Options.
  • It is always necessary to export all connection types to Tekla Connection Designer for reporting purposes.

Base plate connections

  • Base Plate Connections only deal with major axis shear - only one value for shear is available in the Combinations grid in Tekla Connection Designer. (This is a limitation in the Green Book also.)

Moment connections

  • While the “Return Connection to TSD” command can be used, this does not currently return all connection data to Tekla Structural Designer (principally the data derived from the connected elements). Hence, if changes are made in Tekla Structural Designer and the analysis and/ or design processes run and the connection exported again for checking, the engineer should review the connection data and may need to re-enter some of the settings previously made.
  • For Beam to Column moment connections, column forces are exported and displayed on the "Column" tab of the Combinations page.
    • When designed to Eurocodes, there is a reduction factor for column web in compression to allow for coincident forces in the column itself i.e. moment and axial force. This is called kwc and in most cases is 1.0 i.e. no reduction. But where the stress due to the column forces is high (> 0.7 fy) then kwc is < 1.0. See Clause 6.2.6.2 (2).
    • These forces are NOT populated by the TCD integration link and must be entered manually by the engineer.

Simple connections

  • It is not currently possible to transfer Simple Connections from Tekla Structural Designer to Tekla Connection Designer.

Hollow section connections

  • It is not currently possible to transfer Simple Connections from Tekla Structural Designer to Tekla Connection Designer.

Column splice connections

  • Splice connections with significant ‘real’ moments (other than eccentricity moments) cannot currently be transferred from Tekla Structural Designer to Tekla Connection Designer.
Note: Significent 'real' moments being greater than the Ignore forces below limit in Design Settings.
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