Fatigue Property of Open-Hole Steel Plates Influenced by Bolted Clamp-up and Hole Fabrication Methods.

Zhi-Yu Wang,Qing-Yuan Wang,Yong-Jie Liu,Lihui Li

doi:10.3390/ma9080698

Abstract

Steel plates with open holes are commonly used in structural assemblies. The fatigue properties of such details are influenced by bolted clamp-up and hole fabrication methods. The fracture surface, stiffness degradation and fatigue life of test specimens are investigated in detail and compared with the contemporary test data. The analysis results show that the presence of draglines greatly influences the fatigue crack initiation at the open-hole cut by laser. The bolted clamp-up condition greatly enhances the stiffness and the fatigue life of the open-hole details. A discussion is also made from a comparison with the referred fatigue life of hole fabrication details, such as the influence of plate thickness and plasma cutting, drilling and oxy-fuel gas cutting, with the details studied herein. This work could enhance the understanding of the fatigue property and design of such details.

Highlights

Steel plates with open holes are commonly used in structural components to enable an assembly with bolts
For the test specimen without the bolted clamp-up under the stress clamp-uploaded loaded under the stressrange rangeofof220
The fatigue property of open-hole steel plates was investigated in this research with a focus on the influences of the bolted clamp-up condition and hole fabrication methods

Summary

Introduction

Steel plates with open holes are commonly used in structural components to enable an assembly with bolts. For the sake of evaluating the mechanical characteristics of the components with hole fabrication, tensile tests have been widely used in obtaining the basic mechanical properties of the connections. Punched holes as a fast and cost-effective method of forming holes are widely used for secondary tension members. Chesson and Munse [3] concluded that punching reduced the ductility of the net section which causes the early arrival of ultimate stress near the holes and limits the effectiveness in strength development. Frank [4] showed that the strength ratio of drilled-hole specimens was much lower than that of punched-hole specimens and pure punching was recommended in secondary connection members. In agreement with all these findings in the literature, the AASHTO LRFD (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Load-and-resistance Factor Design) [6] restricts pure punched holes in the primary loading carrying members and gives limits of material thickness in some other uses

Results

Discussion

Conclusion