Pinned joints – their design and real behaviour

Abstract

Pinned joints are a basic type of mechanical joints for steel elements. They have been used in metal load-bearing structures since the middle of the nineteenth century. Due to their specific properties – the ability of the connected elements to rotate freely and the elimination of any bending moment transfer between the elements – pinned joints are designed for both steel and timber load-bearing structures. The BS EN 1993-1-8 standard lists simple rules for use when designing pinned joints. The procedures are based on design rules (recommendations) set out by E. Winkler in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In many layout and loading situations, such joints provide results that differ quite significantly from those obtained from precise numerical calculations or experiments. This paper focuses on issues concerned with the design of pinned joints. It deals with the options for the application of the design rules contained in BS EN 1993-1-8 during the design of such joints, and compares the results of these options both with three-dimensional numerical finite-element method models and with executed experimental measurements – load tests performed on joints. The obtained results for examples of specific joint layout and loading type are analysed.