Abstract
Multi-bolt shear connectors (MBSCs), arranging bolts as a group in several rows, can be applied in prefabricated steel–concrete composite beams or bridges (SCCBs) to reduce the construction time and meet the requirements of sustainable development. The mechanical behavior of bolt shear connectors has been broadly investigated in recent years, but they were mainly focused on the normal arrangement. The shear performance of MBSCs is not consistent with that of the same number of single bolts. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element model (FEM) was developed to investigate the multiple bolts effect and its mechanical performance. Material non-linearities and the interactions among all components were included in the FEM. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed FEM were initially verified against the available push-out test results. The validated FEM further studied the load–slip relationship, shear capacity, and shear stiffness of the MBSCs. A parametric study was carried out to determine the effect of the bolt spacing, bolt row numbers, the concrete strength, and the bolt diameter on the shear performance of MBSCs. Based on the extensive parametric analyses, design recommendations considering the multiple bolts effect for predicting the shear resistance per bolt in multi-bolt connectors were proposed and verified.
Highlights
Steel–concrete composite structures (SCCBs) have been widely used in civil engineering construction as they take full advantage of both materials
The average shear capacity and the shear stiffness of finite element model (FEM) with Multi-bolt shear connectors (MBSCs) were usually less than that of the single row bolt connector, which was mainly affected by the influence of the multiple bolts effect
Design recommendations for predicting the ultimate shear resistance (Pu) of bolt shear connectors in steel–concrete composite beams or bridges (SCCBs) have been suggested by several researchers (Kwon et al, 2010; Liu et al, 2015; Chen et al, 2019; Zhang et al, 2019; Yang et al, 2020), which are listed in Supplementary Table 3
Summary
Steel–concrete composite structures (SCCBs) have been widely used in civil engineering construction as they take full advantage of both materials. Among various kinds of mechanical shear connectors, welded and headed studs are the most common because of their convenient construction, favorable mechanical properties, and comprehensive research achievements (Ollgaard et al, 1971; Lam and Ellobody, 2005; Lam, 2007; Xue et al, 2012; Xu et al, 2012; Spremic et al, 2013; Ding et al, 2017). High-strength bolts are commonly employed in steel structures because of their outstanding characteristics They can be utilized as demountable mechanical shear connectors in substitution of the headed studs in SCCBs. Several studies have reported the SCCBs by applying the high-strength bolt connectors
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