Behaviour and design of Grade 10.9 high-strength bolts under combined actions

Abstract

The use of high-strength steel and concrete in the construction industry has been gaining increasing attention over the past few decades. With it comes the need to utilise high-strength structural bolts to ensure the design load to be transferred safely through joint regions, where the space is limited due to the reduced structural dimensions. However, research on the behaviour of high-strength structural bolts under various loading combinations is still insufficient. Most of the current design specifications concerning high-strength structural bolts were established based on a very limited set of experimental results. Moreover, as experimental programs normally include limited design parameters for investigation, finite element analysis has become one of the effective methods to assist the understanding of the behaviour of structural components. An accurate and simple full-range stress-strain model for high-strength structural bolts under different loading combinations was therefore developed, where the effects of bolt fracture was included. The ultimate strength capacities of various structural bolts obtained from the present experimental program were compared with the existing design provisions. Furthermore, design recommendations concerning the pure shear and tension, as well as combined shear and tension resistance of Grade 10.9 high-strength structural bolts were provided.