Download User Manual - Limcon V3 Connection Design

Preface
Limcon first appeared in 1992 as a DOS program, companion to the Australian Steel Institute (ASI)
publication Design of Structural Connections – 4th Edition. This was the principal reference for design
of steel connections to the new limit states code for steel design, AS 4100-1990. Major enhancements
were introduced in 2001 with Limcon V2. The conversion for Windows transformed the user interface
and there were many additions, including virtual reality views of connections and integrated detailing
with DXF output. Hollow section and other connections were added in Limcon V3 in 2003, together
with support for the US, Canadian, and British codes.
Limcon V3.5 included support for the ANSI/AISC 360-05 design specification, which unifies the
LRFD and ASD design methods. Although it has been integrated with the ProSteel CAD system
(www.strucsoftsolutions.com) for some time, V3.5 is the first version of Limcon capable of
integration with structural analysis programs, such as Microstran (www.microstran.com.au). This is
possible by virtue of support for multiple load cases in many connections. Other additions in
Limcon V3.5 were the implementation of the moment base plate according to the AISC publication,
Design Guide 1: Base Plate and Anchor Rod Design, Second Edition and seismic design capability for
some moment connections.
In 2008 the ASI began publishing its revised Connections Series, comprising design guides and design
capacity tables. Limcon V3.55 incorporates the ASI 2008 models, many of which are closely related
to AISC models detailed in the Steel Construction Manual – 13th Edition and AISC Design Guides.
There are some additions to the ASI design models, including axial force in shear connections – see
Chapter 4 for details. Support for Eurocode 3, BS EN 1993 : 2005 was added in 2009. Limcon does
not implement the component method design models in EC3 but does apply EC3 rules to the existing
AISC/ASI models.
Limcon V3.6 includes updates for ANSI/AISC 360-10 and CSA S16-09.
If the file Readme.txt is present in the Limcon folder after installation, you should read it for
information that became available after this manual was printed. The file is automatically displayed
during installation but it may be displayed in Notepad at any time by double-clicking the file in
Windows Explorer.
The first version of Limcon fully compatible with this manual is V3.60.