SidePlate Frequently Asked Questions

• How does SidePlate™ uniquely satisfy progressive floor collapse Bomb Blast Criteria?
  
  Read the Blast Synopsis available in PDF.
  
  The postulated sudden removal of a column is by definition a violent structural event, involving instantaneous rupture and ultimate failure of the column's panel zone due to severe plastic deformation of the targeted column.
  
  Mitigation of ensuing progressive floor collapse using SidePlate™ connection technology is uniquely achieved through positive means by way of catenary action (i.e., a cable-like action - Figure 1), inherently made possible by two parallel side plates which provide a structural beam-to-beam continuity link which, by definition, is free to act independent of the failed column, thus allowing the moment frame beams on either side of the failed column to continue to resist tributary gravity floor loads from above.
  
  The resulting catenary can span two bay lengths between the two columns that are located on either side of the failed column. SidePlate's two full-depth vertical side plates connected to the failed column act as effective continuity elements to transfer axial load in catenary action, using horizontal fillet welds loaded in shear along their length to transfer the axial load to the adjacent moment frame beams. The resulting catenary system can sustain the formation of one or more plastic hinges along its length at each column connection location, while remaining structurally stable.
  
  Like the design case for high seismicity, the weldments and plates for the SidePlate connection, including the link beam-to-column tree connection are designed to develop the full strain-hardened plastic flexural capacity of the connecting beam. Accordingly, the SidePlate moment connection technology is ideally suited for this worst case scenario because it provides structural continuity, redundancy and ductility across the failed column. SidePlate™ is the only known moment frame connection technology that rigorously addresses the "missing column" scenarios associated with a rigorous case-by-case analysis of the chain reaction of failures for progressive floor collapse.