Behavior of low ductility steels in Cold-Formed Steel connections

Abstract

Accepted design approaches for the strength of a steel connection rely on adequate ductility of the connected parts. In cold formed steel connection design, adequate ductility is defined by the Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members. To assess the influence of low ductility steels, i.e. steels not meeting the specification ductility requirements, single lap bolted connections were studied. The experimental study reflected key connection strength parameters: edge distance, sheet thickness, sheet width, bolt pattern, F u F y , and percentage elongation. Test results indicate that failure modes in low ductility steels are inconsistent with observed failure modes in adequate ductility steels. It has also been determined that specification connection strength equations will provide reasonable estimates of the connection load capacity for low ductility steels.