Column base connections: Research, design, and a look to the future

Amit Kanvinde is a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis. His research is focused on the seismic response of steel structures and connections.  He is the recipient of the 2022 T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award from AISC (on the topic of base connections), and has previously received AISC’s Special Achievement Award (2017) and various awards from ASCE, including the Walter Huber Research Prize (2016), and the State of the Art of Civil Engineering Award (2018), and the Norman Medal (2008). He is the co-author of the column base plate example (for Steel Moment Frames) in the SEAOC Seismic Design Manual, and is the lead author of the next edition of AISC's Design Guide One on column base connections. His research is cited in numerous standards, and he currently serves on the AISC Connection Prequalification Review Panel, which approves the AISC 358 standard on prequalified moment frame connections. 

Column base connections are arguably the most important connections in steel buildings, transferring loads from the entire structure into the foundation. At the interface of steel and concrete, these connections are complex in terms of behavior, design, as well as structural interactions with the building frame. The lecture will present our current understanding of these connections based on numerous studies, with an emphasis on AISC-funded studies conducted over the last 15 years. Exposed, slab-overtopped, and embedded connections will be discussed, addressing their response (strength, failure modes, stiffness, and deformation characteristics). Implications for design of the connections as well as the building will be presented. Prospective developments in base connection design will be foreshadowed, including a revision of the AISC Design Guide One, and the use of dissipative base connections in seismic design. 

In Person Schedule

Virtual Schedule

Note: Cancellations received after 5:00 PM on November 2, 2022, and individuals who register but do not attend, will be charged if attendance does not meet the restaurant guarantee.

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE AT NOON ON NOVEMBER 3, 2022.