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4.0 Design of connections
There are two principal method
Bolting, using ordinary or high strength friction grip (HSFG) bolts
Welding
Fig 4.1: Typical connections: (a) beam to column; (b) beam to beam
4.1 Bolted Connections
Two types of bolts commonly used in steel structures
i. Ordinary (or black) bolts
Black bolts sustain a shear load by the shear strength of the bolt shank itself
There are three grades of ordinary bolts, namely 4.6, 8.8 and 10.9
ii. HSFG bolts.
HSFG bolts rely on a high tensile strength to grip the joined parts together so tightly that
they cannot slide.
The preferred size of steel bolts are 12, 16, 20, 22, 24 and 30 mm in diameter.
Generally, in structural connections, grade 8.8 bolts having a diameter not less than 12 mm
are recommended.
In any case, as far as possible, only one size and grade of bolt should be used on a project.
The nominal diameter of holes for ordinary bolts is provided in Table 33 BS 5950
Dh = db + 1 mm for db = 12 mm
Dh = db + 2 mm for 16 ≤ db ≤ 24 mm
Dh = db + 3 mm for db ≥ 27 mm
Dh is the diameter of the bolt hole
db,is the bolt diameter, db
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Fastener spacing and edge/end distances
Recommendations specified in Clause 6.2 of BS 5950
Some are illustrated in Fig. 4.2
Fig. 4.2 Rules for fastener spacing and edge/end distances
i. Spacing between centers of bolts, i.e. pitch (p) in the direction of stress
Where t is the thickness of thinner ply
ii. Minimum edge distance, e1, and end distance, e2, to fasteners should conform with the
following limits;
Rolled, machine flame cut, sawn or planed
edge/end ≥ 1.25Dh
Sheared or hand flame cut edge/end ≥ 1.40Dh
Where Dh is the diameter of the bolt hole
iii. Maximum edge distance, e1, should not exceed the following
where t is the thickness of the thinner part and
Strength Checks
Bolted connections may fail due to various mechanisms including
shear,
bearing,
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tension
Combined shear and tension
Ordinary bolts
I. Shear and bearing
Failure illustrated in Figure 4.3
Fig. 4.3 Failure modes of a beam-to-column connection:
(a) single shear failure of bolt; (b) bearing failure of bolt;
(c) bearing failure of cleat.
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Design shear strength of the connection should be taken as the least of:
db is the nominal diameter of the bolt;
pbb the bearing strength of the bolt, obtained from Table 31;
tp is the thickness of the connected part, or, if the bolts are countersunk, the thickness of
the part minus half the depth of countersinking
e is the end distance, as defined in 6.2.2.1;
pbs is the bearing strength of the connected part, see Table 32.
kbs = 1.0 for bolts in standard clearance holes see 6.3.3.3
Double shear
The shear capacity of bolts in double shear, Psd, is given by
Double shear effectively doubles the shear strength of the bolt.
Fig. 4.4 Double shear failure.
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II. Tension
Tension failure may arise in simple connections because of excessive tension in the bolts (Fig. 4.5(a)) or cover
plates (Fig. 4.5(b))
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Fig. 4.5 Typical tension failures: (a) bolts in tension; (b) cover plate in tension.
Bolts subject to tension
According to the simple method, the nominal tension capacity of the bolt, Pnom, is given by
Where
pt tension strength of the bolt (Table 34)
At tensile stress area of bolt
The tensile capacity of a flat plate is given by;
in which
Ke = 1.2 for grade S275 steel plates
αg gross area of plate = bt (Fig. 4.5)
αn net area of plate = αg =allowance for bolt holes (= Dht, Fig. 4.5(b))
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Combined shear and tension
Fig. 4.6 Bracket bolted to column.
In addition to checking their shear and tension capacities separately, the following relationship
should also be satisfied:
HSFG bolts
All connections utilizing friction grip fasteners should be checked for slip resistance.
Slip resistance.
According to clause 6.4.2, the slip resistance of HSFG bolts designed to be nonslip in
service, PsL, is given by:
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and for HSFG bolts designed to be non-slip under factored loads by
Po minimum shank tension (proof load)
Ks = 1.0 for bolts in standard clearance holes
µ slip factor ≤ 0.5
The slip factor depends on the condition of the surfaces being joined.
According to Table 35 of BS 5950, shot or grit blasted surfaces have a slip factor of 0.5 whereas wire brushed
and untreated surfaces have slip factors of 0.3 and 0.2 respectively.
Bearing.
The bearing capacity of connected parts after slip, Pbg, is given by;
where
db bolt diameter
tp thickness of connected part
pbs bearing strength of connected parts (Table 32)
e end distance
Shear
As in the case of black bolts, the shear capacity of HSFG bolts, Ps, is given by
Combined shear and tension
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Where
Fs applied shear
Ftot total applied tension in the bolt, including the calculated prying forces ptAt in which
pt is obtained from Table 34 and At is obtained from Table 4.22
PsL slip resistance
Po minimum shank tension
Block Shear
Failure occurs in shear at a row of bolt holes parallel to the applied force, accompanied
by tensile rupture along a perpendicular face.
Block shear failure can be avoided by ensuring that the applied shear force, Ft, does not
exceed the block shear capacity, Pr, given by;
Where
Dt is the hole size for the tension face
t is the thickness
Lt and Lv are the dimensions shown in Fig. 4.7
Ke is the effective net area coefficient
k = 0.5 for a single line of bolts parallel to the applied shear
= 2.5 for two lines of bolts parallel to the applied shear
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Fig. 4.7 Block shear. (Based on Fig. 22, BS 5950)
Beam-to-column connection using web cleats (BS 5950)
Shows that the double angle web cleat beam-to-column connection detail shown below is
suitable to resist the design shear force, V, of 400 kN. Assume the steel is grade S275 and the
bolts are M20 grade 8.8 in 2 mm clearance holes.
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Check fastener spacing and edge/end distances
The following conditions need to be met
(For grade S275 steel with tp = 10 mm, py = 275 N/mm2, ε = 1) .Hence all fastener spacing
and edge/end distances to fasteners are satisfactory.
Check Strength of Bolts Connecting Cleats to Supporting Column
Shear
6 No., M20 grade 8.8 bolts. Hence As = 245 mm2 (Table 4.22) and ps = 375 N/mm2 (Table 30).
Shear capacity of single bolt, Ps, is
Shear capacity of bolt group is
Hence, bolts are adequate in shear.
Bearing
Bearing capacity of bolt, Pbb, is given by;
Since thickness of angle cleat (= 10 mm) < thickness of column flange (= 23.8 mm), bearing
capacity of cleat is critical. Bearing capacity of cleat, Pbs, is given by
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Bearing capacity of connection is
Therefore bolts are adequate in bearing
Check strength of bolt group connecting cleats to web of supported beam
6 No., M20 grade 8.8 bolts; from above,
As 245 mm and ps 375 N/mm .
2 2
Ps=245 X 375 =91.9 kN
Since bolts are in double shear, shear capacity of each bolt is 2Ps 2 x91.9 183.8 kN
Loads applied to the bolt group are vertical shear;
Shear load V = 400 kN
Moment, M = 400 × 50 × 10-3 = 20 kN m.
Outermost bolt (A l) subject to greatest shear force which is equal to the resultant of the load due
to the moment, M = 20 kN m and vertical shear force, V = 400 kN.
Load on the outermost bolt due to moment, Fmb, is given by;
where A is the area of bolt and Z the modulus of the bolt group given by
in which I is the inertia of the bolt group equal to;
Load on outermost bolt due to shear, Fvb, is given by
Resultant shear force of bolt, Fs, is
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Since Fs (= 82 kN) < 2Ps (= 183.8 kN) the bolts are adequate in shear.
Bearing
Bearing capacity of bolt, Pbb, is;
Bearing capacity of each cleat, Pbs, is
Bearing capacity of both cleats is
Bearing capacity of the web, Pbs, is
Hence bolts, cleats and beam web are adequate in bearing.
Shear strength of cleats
Shear capacity of a single angle cleat, Pv, is;
Where;
Since shear force V/2 (= 200 kN) < Pv (= 594 kN) the angle is adequate in shear.
Bending Strength of Cleats
Assume moment capacity of one angle of cleat, Mc, is
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Angle cleat is adequate in bending.
Local shear strength of the beam
Shear capacity of the supported beam, Pv, is
Where Av = twD = 10.6 × 602.2 = 6383.3 mm2.
Hence, supported beam at the end is adequate in shear.
Design exercise
1 Analysis of a beam-to-column connection using an end plate (BS 5950)
Calculate the design shear resistance of the connection shown below, assuming that the steel is
grade S275 and the bolts are M20, grade 8.8 in 2 mm clearance holes.
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Analysis of a welded beam-to-column connection (BS 5950)
2.3 A grade S275 steel 610 × 229 × 101 UB is to be connected, via a welded end plate onto a 356
× 368 × 177 UC. The connection is to be designed to transmit a bending moment of 500 kN m
and a shear force of 300 kN. Show that the proposed welding scheme for this connection is
adequate.
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