We have all had our tryst with building blocks in our childhood. The scope of creativity here was endless as we used to come up with different designs whenever we played with it and all of them proving to be structurally stable when assembled. Base-plate connections are similar. Like the building blocks, the possibilities here are endless as the perfect harmony between the base plate, stiffeners, weld, welded profile and the post-installed anchors can create the perfect connection. In this article, we explore what goes into making a good post installed connection and the role of Profis Engineering in the same.
 
ACT 1 - THE CURIOUS CASE OF AN ENGINEER’S JUDGEMENT.
 

One of my favorite definitions of the word “Engineering”, undoubtedly is -

“THE ACTION OF WORKING ARTFULLY TO BRING SOMETHING ABOUT”

The reason for this favoritism is because it associates the most crude and practical form of Science and Technology to Art! This is justified by the many examples around us. An Engineer, uses different resources at his disposal like a color palette and paints a wonderful picture which here, is the design and execution of a project which would last decades for everyone to see and marvel at. Still don’t agree? Visit Mumbai to witness a whole length of bridge practically resting on piers on the sea bed braving the ruthlessness of the Arabian Sea, or maybe travel on a train through the Konkan where man has successfully braved the elements to tame the mighty Western Ghats. Visit Agra.. I think you get my drift here!
 
Engineering has always been a tricky field if you think about it. There have always been constraints amidst which they had to work. In modern times, there is always constraints of Time, Funding and Labor for an Engineer to ply his art in. Therefore, an engineer’s mettle is tested in these times where he needs to submit a design that consumes the least time and resources whilst putting safety in the front seat. Difficult? Affirmative. Has the Engineer been up for the challenge? You bet! The advancement of construction technologies like the pre-cast, composite buildings, the advent of the pre and post tensioned elements are testament to the fact that as the challenges of constraints grew, engineers have evolved to accommodate these constraints and deliver a finished product that is safe to occupy. A good engineer doesn't over-compensate. He would not design something that would not sit with the project constraints and thus risking the project as a whole. The key-word here is optimization. And the enabler for this, which is the hallmark of a good engineer is “Engineer’s judgement”.  Just like no two snow flakes are the same, no two Engineers will have the same judgement. This judgment that more or less defines the economics of the project is aided by experience, competence and the most under-rated enabler of all—A GOOD SOFTWARE! A software that gives absolute clarity to the designers on the components that make up a building system and enables them to work their magic.

ACT 2 - THE ART OF BASE PLATE DESIGN WITH PROFIS ENGINEERING
 
Design soft-wares are a luxury modern Engineer’s have. The challenging environment and conditions an Engineer plies his trade in needs a higher level of assistance from the digital sphere so as to make an educated engineering judgement leading to optimization and hence a successful project closure satisfying all stake holders involved.
Before I talk more on the software, remember we talked about Engineering being an art? Well this art, also includes the design of a post installed connection. Here, the actors of the director are the different components in the connection like the Post Installed anchors, Base plate, Welds, Stiffeners and the Welded profile and how the Director uses these to create a perfect play is how well the design would be, keeping in mind both the safety and resource sensitivity. Due to the many actors involved, it requires a lot of pondering and a high level of Engineer’s Judgement to design “the perfect connection” and PROFIS Engineering helps the Engineer do just that! The Component Based Finite Element Analysis built in the software assists the Engineer in dividing the entire system into small meshes and the stress levels at every mesh is perfectly picturized enabling the engineer to administer his diagnosis. This accurate analysis enables the designer to use every weapon in his arsenal to arrest these stress points without over-doing it resulting in decreased cost, time and labor in producing the same at job-site without any compromise on the structural safety. Things that always went over-looked like the extra forces that come due to the real time bending of the base-plate is made possible by the detailed CBFEM analysis. The seam-less process of input from the structural software to the design and export of CAD objects to the drafting software significantly reduces the time of post installed connection design which would generally take an average of two hours to a mere fifteen minutes enabling the engineer to be more productive and save time for other activities in office, site or maybe get back home early! The project sharing option in the software serves as a shared folder for his colleague’s in office and at site to view the design with the installation data for a smooth exchange of information and execution.
 

Figure: System stress distribution using CBFEM analysis on deformation, concrete stresses and plastic strain. A clear picture for an engineer to decide on the right mix of dimensions, thickness and orientation of all components involved [Base plate, stiffeners, weld, profile and the post-installed anchors]

ACT 3 - CONCLUSION
 
I would like to conclude by saying PROFIS Engineering is more than a software. It is a ground-breaking revolution in post installed connection design that brings the entire technical community together. The community, who, before were separated by different thumb rules and assumption with a platform of CBFEM and Design code adherence. The same community would now be empowered by a tool that would utilize an Engineer’s Judgement to its deserved fullest.

Just like any technology in this world, there is always scope for improvement, even with PROFIS Engineering. And it’s exciting to see what this software has in store for us in the future! For now, I would like to end this article by saying

KEEM CALM AND USE PROFIS ENGINEERING!

Click here for more information and accessing Profis Engineering.