CEE Alumnae, Clare Terpstra, featured in Modern Steel Construction
Northwestern Alumnae Clare Terpstra (BSCE 2015) was featured in the January 2016 Modern Steel Construction for her article on “Specify with Care,” co-authored with Leigh Arber (Senior Engineer with AISC). The article delved into when-and when not-to specify slip-critical connections.
In the world of Steel Construction the slip-critical concept is critical to understanding how bolted connections work. Clare and Leigh explained how the slip-critical connection transfers shear, when should it be specified, the strength of a slip-critical connection, how tension is handled differently in a slip-critical joint, how the surfaces need to be prepared through faying to guarantee adequate friction, and that pretension needs to be applied with bolts in a slip-critical connection.
Clare is currently a Research Assistant at the University of Washington pursuing a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering.