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Pin Connections for Cold-Formed Steel with Spreadsheet

Kent Davis, Ph.D, PE


Course Outline

This course describes some background to and the procedures for calculating the shear and tension capacity of pneumatically driven steel pinned connections for cold-formed steel using working stress design.  A major portion of the course is based on a 1996 publication, “Design Provisions for Aerosmith, Inc. Steel Pins.”  This publication is available for free download from the internet.  Calculations by calculator and by spreadsheet are illustrated by several example problems.  The student must have a licensed copy of Excel© to use the spreadsheet. 

This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Intended Audience

Structural Engineers, Architectural Engineers, and Architects.

Benefit to Attendee

Connections between cold-rolled steel members are very important in design and show promise of increased use, but available tables of pneumatically driven steel pin capacities are limited.  The ability to calculate values by calculator or by use of the spreadsheet for a variety of situations is very useful. 

Course Introducation

Steel pins have been code approved for making connections to steel and concrete for over 20 years (Ref. 1, p. 1).  There is great potential for the increased use of pneumatically driven pins in light weight cold-formed steel construction as a substitute for or supplement to screws.  The use of pneumatic pin coil fastening tools in cold-formed steel construction might be compared to the use of nail guns in wood construction.  They promise very significant gains in productivity and in the reduction of waste (Ref. 2).  Manufacturers have used universities and independent testing agencies to determine the structural capacities of steel pins in light weight cold-formed steel.  For example, Aerosmith lists several such reports on its website (http://www.aerosmithfastening.com/testing_and_approvals.html).  One of these reports, LGSRG 2-96, “Design Provisions for Aerosmith, Inc. Steel Pins,” is the major basis of this course and can be downloaded free of charge.

Course Content

The course content documents and the spreadsheet are in the following links:

LGSRG 2-96, “Design Provisions for Aerosmith, Inc. Steel Pins” (Free Download)

Pin Connections for Cold-Formed Steel with Spreadsheet (Content PDF File)

PINX© spreadsheet (Spreadsheet PDF File. The actual Excel spreadsheet can be used to solve quiz problems and is available in the quiz)

You must have a licensed copy of Excel program to use this spreadsheet.

Analysis ToolPak needs to be installed before the Excel spreadsheet can function properly. To install the Analysis ToolPak:

1. Start Mircrosoft Excel spreadsheet program
2. On the Tools menu of Excel, click Add-Ins.
3. Select the Analysis ToolPak check box.
4. Click OK

This spreadsheet is provided for illustrative teaching purpose only, and is not intended for use in any specific project. Anyone making use of the information contained in this spreadsheet does so at his/her own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.


You need to open or download above files to study this course.

You may need to download Acrobat Reader to view and print the document.

Table of Content

PART ONE - BACKGROUND
            Introduction
            Steel Pins
            Comments on “Design Provisions for Aerosmith, Inc. Steel Pins” 
            Safety Factor
            Example Problems Using Formulas from “Design Provisions …”
            Using the Spreadsheet
            References
PART TWO – DESIGN PROVISIONS FOR AEROSMITH, INC. STEEL PINS
             (A 24 page publication down-loaded from the Aerosmith web site.) 

Course Summary

The 2 hour course gives some background to and illustrates the calculations involved in determining the shear and tensile capacities of pneumatically driven steel pins in cold-formed steel connections. Examples of calculations by calculator and Excel© spreadsheet are given.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

Take a Quiz

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.