BOLTED CONNECTIONS
1 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Why Connection Failure
Should be Avoided?
A connection failure may lead to a
catastrophic failure of the whole structure
Normally, a connection failure is not as
ductile as that of a steel member failure
For achieving an economical design, it is
important that connectors develop full or
a little extra strength of the members, it
is joining.
Connection failure may be avoided by
adopting a higher safety factor for the
joints than the members.
2 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Classification of Connections
Method of fastening: rivets, bolts and
welding.
Connection rigidity: simple, rigid or
semi-rigid.
Joint resistance: Bearing connections
and friction connections
Fabrication location: Shop or field
connections.
Joint location: Beam-column, beam-to
beam, column to foundation
3 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Rivets and Riveted Connections
Riveting not used now due to:
The necessity of preheating
the rivets prior to driving
Labour costs associated with
large riveting crews.
Cost involved in careful
inspection and removal of
poorly installed rivets
High level of noise associated
with driving rivets
4 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Types of Bolts
Unfinished bolts or black bolts or C
Grade bolts (IS: 1363-1992)-bearing type
connections
Turned bolts - Expensive & used in Spl. jobs
Precision (A-Grade)& Semi-precision
(B-Grade) bolts (IS: 1364-1992) -They
are used when no slippage is permitted
Ribbed bolts (Rarely used in ordinary steel
structures)
High strength bolts (IS: 3757-1985 and
IS:4000 - 1992)-Friction type connections
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Black or Ordinary Bolt and Nut
Source: AISC
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Hexagonal Head Black
Bolt and Nut (IS 1363)
Figures in brackets are for High-strength Bolts & Nuts
Black bolts are inserted in clearance holes of about 1.5mm to
2mm more than the bolt diameter and then tightened through
the nuts.
7 Dr. Tamal Kundu
High-Strength Bolts (cont.)
The material of the bolts do not have a
well defined yield point.
Instead of using yield stress, a so-
called proof load is used.
The proof load is the load obtained by
multiplying the tensile stress area
(approximately equal to 0.8 times the
shank area of bolt) by the proof stress.
In IS:800 the proof stress is taken as
0.7 times the ultimate tensile stress of
the bolt.
8 Dr. Tamal Kundu
High-Strength Bolts (cont.)
They are identified
by manufacturer’s
identification symbol
and property class
identification symbol
8 S or 8.8 S or 10 S
or 10.9 S which will
be embossed on the
Source: heads of these bolts.
www.nichiasteel.co.jp
9 Dr. Tamal Kundu
High-Strength Friction Grip
(HSFG) Bolts
Special techniques are used for tightening
the nuts to induce a specified initial
tension in the bolt (called the proof-load),
which causes sufficient friction between
the faying faces.
Such bolts are called High-Strength
Friction Grip bolts (HSFG).
Due to this friction, the slip in the joint is
eliminated; joints with HSFG bolts are
called non-slip connections or friction
type connections
10 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Bolt tightening using impact
wrench
Source: AISC
11 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Calibrated Wrench tightening
Wrenches are calibrated by
tightening, in a hydraulic
tension-measuring device,
using a minimum of three bolts
of the same diameter.
Impact wrenches are set to
stall when the prescribed bolt
tension is reached. A click
sound can be heard and felt
when the set torque is
reached.
Manual torque wrenches have
a torque indicating device,
using which the torque
required to produce the initial
tension is measured.
12 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Advantages of
Bolted connections
Bolted connections offer the following
advantages over riveted or welded
connections:
Use of unskilled labour and simple tools
Noiseless and quick fabrication
No special equipment/process needed for
installation
Fast progress of work
Accommodates minor discrepancies in
dimensions
The connection supports loads as soon as the
bolts are tightened (in welds and rivets,
cooling period is involved).
Main drawback of black bolt is the slip
of the joint when subjected to loading
13 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Advantages of HSFG Bolts
HSFG bolts do not allow any slip between the
elements connected, especially in close tolerance
holes, Thus they provide rigid connections.
Because of the clamping action, load is
transmitted by friction only and the bolts are not
subjected to shear and bearing.
Due to the smaller number of bolts, the gusset
plate sizes are reduced.
Deformation is minimized.
Noiseless fabrication, since the bolts are
tightened with wrenches.
14 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Advantages of HSFG Bolts
The possibility of failure at the net section under
the working loads is eliminated.
Since the loads causing fatigue will be within
proof load, the nuts are prevented from loosening
and the fatigue strength of the joint will be
greater than in welded/connections.
Since the load is transferred by friction, there is no
stress concentration in the holes.
Unlike riveted joints, few persons are required for
making the connections.
No heating is required and no danger of tossing of
bolt. Thus safety of the workers is enhanced.
Alterations, if any (e.g. replacement of defective
bolt) is done easily than in welded connections.
15 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Drawbacks of HSFG Bolts
Bolting usually involves a significant
fabrication effort to produce the bolt holes
and associated plates or cleats.
Special procedures are required to ensure
that the clamping actions required for
preloaded friction-grip joints are
achieved.
The connections with HSFG bolts may not
be as rigid as a welded connection.
HSFG bolts are about 50% higher than
black bolts
The percentage elongation at failure is
12% only.
16 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Bolt Holes
Bolt holes are usually drilled.
IS: 800 allows punched holes only in
materials whose yield stress (fy) does not
exceed 360 MPa and where thickness
does not exceed (5600/fy) mm.
Bolt holes are made larger than the bolt
diameter to facilitate erection.
Oversize holes should not exceed 1.25d or
(d+8) mm in diameter, where d is the
nominal bolt diameter in mm.
Slotted hole [provided to accommodate
movements) should not exceed 1.33d in
length (for short slotted hole) and 2.5 d in
length (for long slotted hole).
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Lap Joints
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Butt Joints
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Failure of Bolted Joints
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Bearing Failure of Bolt
Photo by P.S. Green (Copyright© AISC)
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Tension Failure of Bolts
Photo by J.A. Swanson and R. Leon of Georgia Institute of
Technology © AISC
22 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Bearing Failure of Plates
Photo by J.A. Swanson and R. Leon of Georgia Institute of
Technology© AISC
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Pitch, Staggered holes &
Gauge
The edge
distance
should be
sufficient for
bearing
capacity and
to provide
space for bolt
head, washer
and nut.
A minimum spacing of 2.5 times the nominal diameter of
the fastener is specified in the code to ensure that there
is sufficient space to tighten the bolts, to prevent
overlapping of the washers and to provide adequate
resistance to tear-out of the bolts.
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Bolt Dia, Pitch & Edge
Distances as per IS 800
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Gauge Distances
for bolts as per SP-1
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Note on IS Rolled Sections
Bolting is often poorly executed:
Shank gets bent due to tapered flange
To avoid it use
Tapered washers
(IS 5372/IS 5374)
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Design Strength Of Black Bolts
The nominal capacity, Vnsb, of a bolt in shear
is given in the code as
Vnsb (f u / 3)(n n A nb n s A sb ) lj lg pk
where nn = number of shear planes with threads intercepting the
shear plane,
ns = number of shear planes without threads intercepting the
shear plane,
βlj = reduction factor which allows for the overloading of end bolts
that occur in long connections
βlg = reduction factor that allows for the effect of large grip length,
βpk = reduction factor to account for packing plates in excess of
6mm.
The factored shear force Vsb should satisfy
Vsb ≤ Vnsb / γmb (γmb = 1.25)
28 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Shear Planes With and
Without Threads
Threads included in the Shear
Plane
29 Dr. Tamal Kundu Threads Excluded from the Shear Plane
Design Strength of Black Bolts (cont.)
Asb = Nominal shank area
Anb = Net tensile stress area through the
threads
Anb = / 4 (d - 0.9382p)2 ≈ 0.78 Asb
p= pitch of thread, mm
Reduction Factor for Long Joints:
βlj = 1.075 – lj (200 d) with 0.75 ≤ βlj ≤ 1.0
Reduction Factor for Large Grip Length:
βlg = 8d / (3d + lg); lg ≤ 8d; βlg ≤ βlj
Reduction Factor for Packing plate:
βpk = (1-0.0125 tpk ); tpk is the thickness of the
thicker packing plate in mm
30 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Bolts in Tension
The nominal capacity of a bolt in tension is:
Tnb = 0.90 fub Anb < fyb Asb (γm1 / γm0 )
where Asb = Shank area of bolt
Anb = Net Tensile Stress area of bolt
fyb = Yield stress of the bolt
γm1 = 1.25; γm0 = 1.10
The factored tension force Tb shall satisfy
Tb ≤ Tnb / γmb ; γmb = 1.25
If any of the connecting plates is flexible, then
additional prying forces must be considered.
31 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Bolts in Bearing
The nominal bearing strength of the bolt is :
Vnpb = 2.5 kbd t fu
fu = Ultimate tensile stress of the plate in MPa
d = nominal diameter of the bolt in mm
t = summation of the thicknesses of the connected plates
experiencing bearing stress in the same direction (If the
bolts are countersunk, the thickness of the plate minus
one half of the depth of counter sinking)
kb is smaller of e/(3do), p/(3do)-0.25, fub/ fu and 1.0,
where fub is the ultimate tensile stress of the bolt, e is the
edge distance, p is the pitch of the fastener along
bearing direction, and do is the diameter of the bolt
hole.
Vnpb should be multiplied by a factor 0.7 for over size
or short slotted holes and by 0.5 for long slotted
holes.
32 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Bolts in Bearing (cont.)
The factor kb takes into account
inadequate edge distance or pitch and also
prevents bearing failure of bolts.
If we adopt a minimum edge distance of
1.5 x bolt hole diameter and a minimum
pitch of 2.5 x diameter of bolt, kb may be
approximately taken as 0.50.
The bolt bearing on any plate subjected to
a factored shear force Vsb, shall satisfy
Vsb ≤ Vnpb / γmb ; γmb = 1.25
33 Dr. Tamal Kundu
Capacity Of Ordinary Bolts (Grade 4.6)
Based on Net Tensile Area
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