Mechanical Behavior of High-Tension Bolted Joints with Varying Bolt Size and Plate Thickness

Abstract

The use of steel plates has been greatly increased in bridge construction, particularly for long-span bridges, and connections between the plates are made usually using high-tension bolts. However, the specifications on the use of large-sized high-tension bolts are not adequately stated in the currently available construction manuals. In order to provide further information on the use of the large-sized high-tension bolts, this study experimentally investigated the relaxation and slip behavior of M30 bolts with varying bolt size and plate thickness. In addition, numerical evaluation using FEM was performed to investigate the compressive stress occurred on the inside of bolt hole. The analyzed results were compared with the stress distribution measured from strain gages attached on the bolts and bolt holes. From the study presented herein, it was found that the relaxation was increased as the size of bolt increased, and that the M30 high-tension bolts developed slip coefficient greater than 0.4. The thickness of plate did not significantly affect the compressive stress distribution around the bolt holes.