Capacity analysis of advanced bolt shear connectors in composite beams with finite element method using MIDAS FEA software

Abstract

Prefabricated construction is now familiar and widely used in various parts of the world. The important thing in the composite structure is the shear connection. Advanced bolt shear connectors are one of the innovations for prefabricated construction because their use is more efficient. The shear capacity of the advanced bolt shear connectors was carried out with the nonlinear finite element method using MIDAS FEA software and then compared with the results of laboratory testing and theoretical equations. There were 8 models to be tested with 2 variations of bolt diameters (12 mm and 16 mm) and 3 variations of bolt pretension (without pretension, 0.2Pc pretension, 0.5Pc pretension, and 0.8Pc pretension). The results of the analysis show that the diameter of the bolts has a large effect on the shear capacity of the shear connectors where with the same bolt pretension, the shear capacity increases 71.4286% - 73.0769% on the test models with 16 mm bolts. Bolt pretension also affects the shear capacity of the shear connectors although the impact is small, 1.9231% - 7.6923% (12 mm diameter bolts) and 1.1111% - 6.6667% (16 mm diameter bolts) from the value of the shear capacity of the model without pretension. The most optimal pretension is 0.5Pc for 2 bolt diameter variations. In the results of the analysis of the finite element method and laboratory tests, the deflection is directly proportional to the shear capacity of the models.