Engineering Structures 22 (2000) 12711284 www.elsevier.

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Finite element modeling of bolted connections between coldformed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates under static shear loading
K.F. Chung *, K.H. Ip
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, Peoples Republic of China Received 3 March 1999; received in revised form 26 July 1999; accepted 12 August 1999

Abstract A nite element model with three-dimensional solid elements is established to investigate the structural performance of bolted connections between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates under shear. Non-linear material, geometrical and contact analysis is carried out to predict the loadextension curves of typical bolted connections with cold-formed steel strips of high yield strength and low ductility. The failure mode of interest in the present investigation is the bearing failure of cold-formed steel strip around bolt holes; a full description of the nite element model is presented. Based on test data, a stressstrain curve for the coldformed steel strip is proposed which allows the cold-formed steel strip to yield and degrade in strength at large strain. The load extension curves of four sets of test specimens were successfully predicted up to an extension of 3 mm. The predicted bearing resistance and the extensional stiffness of the bolted connections compare well with test data. It is found that stressstrain curves, contact stiffness and frictional coefcient between element interfaces, and clamping force developed in bolt shanks are important parameters for accurate prediction of the loadextension curves of bolted connections. 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Bolted connections; Cold-formed steel connections; Plasticity; Strength degradation; Non-linear contact analysis

1. Introduction Thin steel products are used extensively in the building industry, ranging from purlins and lintels, to roof sheeting and oor decking. Many different shapes and sizes of thin steel sections are available for use either as basic building elements for assembly on site, or alternatively as pre-fabricated panels or frames. These thin sections are cold-formed by rolling or bending from strip steel, and are given the generic title of cold-formed steel sections. The method of manufacture is important as it differentiates these products from hot rolled steel sections such as I sections, channel sections and hollow sections. The most common sections are C and Z sections, and the thickness of these sections typically ranges from 1.2 mm to 3.2 mm. Moreover, there are a whole range of

variants of these basic shapes, including sections with single and double edge lips, and sections with internal stiffeners and longitudinal bends in webs. Both steel with yield strength of 280 N/mm2 and 350 N/mm2 are commonly used. Recently, steel with high yield strength of 450 N/mm2 is also used in lipped C and Z sections, while new steel cladding with yield strength of 550 N/mm2 is also available. There are a number of codied design recommendations [16] on the design of coldformed steel structures together with complementary design guides [79] and worked examples [10] to assist practising engineers.

2. Connections between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates In building construction, hot rolled steel sections are commonly used as primary structural frames while coldformed steel sections are used as secondary structural members to support claddings as part of the building

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envelopes. Connections between hot rolled steel and cold-formed steel members are commonly achieved with bolts and web-cleats. At present, many design expressions on the load carrying capacities of bolted connections against bearing failure may be found in various design recommendations. However, they are semiempirical expressions formulated according to test data of specic ranges of material properties and geometrical dimensions. While the semi-empirical expressions are applicable for cold-formed steel strips with high ductility and design strengths between 280 N/mm2 and 350 N/mm2, they may not be suitable for high strength coldformed steel strips of low ductility. Due to the advancement of steel technology, cold-formed steel strips with design yield strength up to 550 N/mm2 are now available for building applications. Although the increment in strength is highly desirable, the ductility of high strength cold-formed steel strips is signicantly reduced (to only a few percentage elongation). This may affect adversely the structural performance of the high strength cold-formed steel strips, particularly, at connections where local stresses and strains are very high, leading to premature failure. A close examination on the strength and the deformation characteristics of bolted connections between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates is desirable in order to provide efcient and safe design recommendations for high strength cold-formed steel structures. This paper presents part of the ndings of a research project on the structural performance of bolted connections of cold-formed steel structures. The research project aims to examine the strength and stiffness of bolted connections between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates in typical building applications. The investigation may be divided into the following parts: 1. coupon tests of cold-formed steel strips with different yield strengths, tensile strengths and elongation limits; 2. lap shear tests on bolted connections between coldformed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates; 3. numerical investigation on lap shear tests using threedimensional solid elements with non-linear material, geometrical and contact analysis. The areas of interest are: the loadextension curves of bolted connections based on engineered stressstrain curves with strength degradation, the local stress and strain distribution around bolt holes, the load path between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates, and relative contributions of end bearing resistance and frictional resistance between contact interfaces, and patterns of yielding and strength degradation at high strains.

The coupon tests provide basic data to generate appropriate engineered stressstrain curves with strength degradation for cold-formed steel strips. The proposed stressstrain curves are then incorporated into a nite element model to examine the structural performance of bolted connections under shear. The loadextension curves of the bolted connections predicted by nite element models are then compared with those of the lap shear tests. Full description of the nite element models and also the results of the nite element analyses are presented. The signicance of the stressstrain curves, contact stiffness and frictional coefcient between element interfaces, and clamping force developed in bolt shanks are discussed in detail.

3. Coupons tests A total number of six tensile tests were carried out with two steel grades of galvanized cold-formed steel strips, namely G300 and G550; the design yield strength of the strips are 300 N/mm2 and 550 N/mm2, respectively, while the nominal thicknesses are 1.6 mm and 1.5 mm, respectively. For each steel material, three coupons of 20 mm width by 120 mm length were axially elongated up to rupture, and both strain gauges and displacement transducers were used to measure the deformation of the coupons before and after yielding, respectively. Table 1 summarizes the measured material properties and parameters of the two steel materials; the actual thicknesses of the steel materials are measured directly from the steel strips after careful removal of galvanizing coating. The stressstrain curves of the cold-formed steel strips are then deduced from the measured loadextension curves of the coupons based on initial dimensions as shown in Fig. 1a. It should be noted that these curves are only accurate before the onset of necking, thereafter localized deformation will introduce errors to the curves [11]. Correction to the measured stressstrain curves for large plastic deformation is then applied to give the true stressstrain curves, which are also plotted onto Fig. 1a for direct comparison. Refer to Appendix A for details of the true stressstrain curves.

4. Lap shear tests A total of 12 lap shear tests [3,5] with both G300 and G550 cold-formed steel strips were carried out. Table 2 summarizes the material grades and the nominal thicknesses of the cold-formed steel strips together with the dimensions of washers; the bolts are grade 8.8 and 12 mm diameter. In the present study, the material grade and the dimension of the connections are chosen in such a way that bearing failure in the cold-formed steel strips

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Table 1 Measured material properties of cold-formed steel strips in coupon tests Test specimen Thickness Nominal (mm) G550-1 G550-2 G550-3 G300-1 G300-2 G300-3 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 Actual (mm) 1.54 1.56 1.56 1.41 1.42 1.41 Elastic modulus (kN/mm2) 222.2 220.0 212.9 203.3 206.7 202.7 Yield strength (N/mm2) 616.7 622.1 623.2 320.1 321.2 320.3 Tensile strength (N/mm2) 625.1 648.4 641.6 440.1 470.4 450.3 Elongation limit (%) 1.3 4.1 2.9 20.0 25.0 21.0

around bolt holes is always critical. For each combination of material grade and washer, three specimens are specied for testing. Fig. 2 illustrates the overall dimensions of the test specimens while the test set-up is shown in Fig. 3. In each test, two identical cold-formed steel strips were each bolted at one end to a 25-mm-thick hot rolled steel plate, and the bolts were installed with torque wrench to a torque of 30 Nm. The ends of the test specimen were then attached through hinges onto a tensile test machine in which a tensile force was applied gradually to the test specimen in a displacement control mode to establish the complete loadextension curve, before and after peak load. Both the applied tensile force and the separation between two specic locations of the test specimen were measured and stored into a data logger. The prescribed extension rate was set to 1 mm/min, while data were collected at an extension of 0.05-mm intervals up to a total end extension of 5.0 mm. In addition to the total load carrying capacities of bolted connections, the following aspects of the behaviour of the connections are compared and discussed: the resistance contribution from bearing action between the bolt shanks and the cold-formed steel strips, and the resistance contribution of frictional action between the washers and the cold-formed steel strips.

5. Test results of lap shear tests The measured load carrying capacities of the bolted connections at specic extensions are presented in Table 2 while the measured loadextension curves of the bolted connections are presented in Figs. 4 and 5. It should be noted that in order to avoid excessive deformation in connected members, the maximum load carrying capacities of the bolted connections are taken as the maximum applied load corresponding to an extension less than or equal to 3 mm [1,2]. In general, bearing

Fig. 1. (a) Stressstrain curves from coupon tests and engineering stressstrain curves of test specimens. (b) Proposed stressstrain curves for G550 cold-formed steel strips under tension and compression. (c) Proposed stressstrain curves for G300 cold-formed steel strips under tension and compression.

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Table 2 Measured strengths and exibilities of bolted connections under static shear loadinga Test Cold-formed steel strips Washers Applied load (kN) under extension at Deection at 2/3 of maximum applied load (mm)

Grade

Nominal thickness (mm)

1 mm

2 mm

3 mm

A11A-1 A11A-2 A11A-3 A11B-1 A11B-2 A11B-3 A21A-4 A21A-5 A21A-6 A21B-4 A21B-5 A21B-6

G550

1.6

(Averaged value) G550 1.6 B

(Averaged value) G300 1.5 A

(Averaged value) G300 1.5 B

(Averaged value)

19.85 18.81 21.77 20.14 16.66 17.99 17.79 17.48 14.73 16.13 13.61 14.83 13.66 16.32 14.32 14.77

26.44 25.20 26.78 26.14 23.31 24.84 24.65 24.27 18.44 18.47 17.26 18.06 17.66 20.01 19.14 18.94

28.96 28.82 28.92 28.90 27.18 29.11 29.77 28.69 17.91 18.63 19.04 18.53 20.79 20.52 20.36 20.56

1.02 1.09 0.70 0.94 1.22 1.15 1.18 1.18 0.69 0.48 0.82 0.66 0.78 0.58 0.77 0.71

a Washer A: external diameter 25.7 mm, internal diameter 13.0 mm, thickness 2.3 mm. Washer B: external diameter 32.1 mm, internal diameter 14.6 mm, thickness 3.0 mm.

Fig. 2. Geometry of cold-formed steel strip in lap shear test (dimensions in mm).

failure of cold-formed steel strips was always critical in all the tests while large localized plastic deformation around bolt holes was also evident. Findings of the test results of both G550 and G300 test specimens are presented below. 5.1. G550 test specimens The maximum load carrying capacities of test specimens A11A are found to be very close to those in test specimens A11B at respective extensions, despite the use of larger washers in test specimens A11B. As the same torque is used for bolt installation in both sets of test specimens, the compressive normal stresses and also the frictional stresses between the washers and the cold-formed steel strips will vary inversely with the sizes of the washers. The two effects of reduced frictional stress and increased contact area tend to cancel out each other, and the load carrying capacities of both sets of test specimens are very close.

Fig. 3.

Conguration of typical test specimen in lap shear test.

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Fig. 4. Theoretical and experimental loaddeection curves for bolted connections with G550 cold-formed steel strips.

Fig. 5. Theoretical and experimental loaddeection curves for bolted connections with G300 cold-formed steel strips.

It is further considered that the resistance contribution of bearing action between the bolt shanks and the coldformed steel strips is much more important than the contribution of frictional action between the washers and the cold-formed steel strips. The bearing resistance is directly related to the tensile strength of the steel strips, and is, thus, more important in bolted connections between high strength cold-formed steel strips. The end sections of test specimens A11A and A11B were found to curl up after the peak load carrying capacities are reached after the extension exceeded 3 mm. 5.2. G300 test specimens The maximum load carrying capacities of test specimens A21B are found to be approximately 10% higher than those in test specimens A21A due to the presence of larger washers. This suggests that the resistance contribution of frictional action between the washers and the cold-formed steel strips may be signicant for low strength cold-formed steel strips. Furthermore, curling of the ends of the specimens was observed at an extension of about 2 mm, before the peak load carrying capacities were reached. Both the coupon tests and the lap shear tests provide basic data in the forms of stressstrain curves and load

extension curves for the calibration of nite element modeling.

6. Numerical investigation With the advent of computer hardware and software, numerical simulation has drawn the attention of researchers in various engineering disciplines. In the eld of structural engineering, results from nite element simulation may provide detailed information on the stress and the strain distributions in structures. Such information is not easily available from experiments, and, therefore, numerical investigation may be used to provide supplementary data for improved understanding. Furthermore, parametric studies on the nite element models may be performed to improve the efciency of structural design. In recent years, advancement in nite element formulation has produced robust algorithms in handling large deformation, plasticity and contact compatibility. This allows numerical modeling to investigate various large strain elasto-plastic problems [1214]. While much effort has been devoted to two-dimensional elasto-plastic analysis with contact elements [15,16], extension of the technique to three-dimensional structures is limited. Much of the research work is devoted to the analysis of metal forming [17,18].

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The pioneering work in three-dimensional modeling of bolted connection is attributed to Krishnamurthy and Graddy [19]. They employed elastic linear analysis with contact conditions simulated approximately by attaching and releasing appropriate nodes after each load increment. Until recently, a rigorous approach is reported [20,21] modeling beam-to-column connections with bolted extended end-plates in hot rolled steel construction. Solid elements together with contact elements are found to produce good results compared with test data. The following section presents the research work [2224] using three-dimensional solid elements with non-linear material, geometrical and contact analysis to investigate the structural performance of bolted connections between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates under static shear loading. 6.1. Finite element modeling In the present study, the ANSYS (Version 5.3) [25] nite element package is used to predict the loadextension curves of the bolted connections between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates under shear. Three-dimensional eight-node iso-parametric solid elements SOLID45 are employed to model all the components, namely, the cold-formed steel strips, the hot rolled steel plates, the bolt and also the washers, in order to capture yielding propagation throughout the material thickness. Such elements are especially suitable for the plasticity type problem since they allow discontinuous strain elds in simulating shear bands. Furthermore, the normal stresses acting on the cold-formed steel strips due to the clamping forces in bolt shanks and also the tangential stresses due to frictional forces between contact interfaces may also be incorporated. Contact interfaces between the cold-formed steel strips and the bolt, the washer and the hot rolled steel plates are modeled by contact elements CONTAC49 so that intuitive assumptions on the position and the size of contact area are not required. In order to simplify the model, only half of the lap shear test specimen is modeled as shown in Fig. 6a after taking symmetry along the longitudinal axis of the test specimen. The hot rolled steel plate is assumed to be rigid and xed in space; it is modeled by a single element with all its degrees of freedom restrained. The bolt is assumed to be threadless and forms an integral component with the washer. The boltwasher component is assumed to be linear elastic throughout the analysis. Furthermore, the root of the boltwasher component is xed in space by constraining the associated nodes. For ease of meshing, an articial small hole of 1 mm diameter is provided through the centreline of the boltwasher component. Furthermore, the nite element mesh is rened locally in the vicinity of the bolt hole, as shown in Fig. 6b, for improved resolution of stresses and defor-

Fig. 6. Finite element mesh for CFS-HRS connection (specimen A11A).

mations; local buckling in the strips may also be incorporated. The aspect ratios of those elements near the bolt hole are kept small to reduce the shear locking effect in the elements. This is particularly important for elements on the contact surfaces as they have to conform with the shape of the bolt shank when simulating the bolthole interaction. Table 3 summarizes the types and the total number of elements used in the models. The true stressstrain curves [26] established from coupon tests are adopted for the cold-formed steel strips in order to establish both yielding and strength degradation during deformation. Non-linear material, geometrical and contact analysis is then carried out to predict the loadextension curves of the bolted connections. The nite element modeling may provide detailed information on the yield zones of the cold-formed steel strips, the stress distribution in the strips undergoing end bearing failure, and also the resistance contributions of the bearing and the frictional actions, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of clamping forces in bolt shanks on the loadextension curves of the bolted connections will also be examined.

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Table 3 Details of nite element meshesa Model No. of nodes No. of solid elements No. of contact elements
a

Elements SOLID45 CONTAC49

A11A/A21A 1878 933 CFS/264 B + W/1 HRS 981

A11B/A21B 1917 933 CFS/288 B + W/1 HRS 1083

CFS denotes cold-formed steel strips, HRS denotes hot rolled steel plates, B + W denotes bolt and washers.

6.2. Stressstrain curves Based on the results of the coupon tests, a bi-linear stressstrain curve is rst incorporated into the nite element model with the yield strength taken as the measured yield strength, py, of the cold-formed steel strips. The nite element model with such a material curve is referred to as FEA-py. However, it is found that the maximum resistance of the bolted connections is typically 15% higher than the results in G550 test specimens. Consequently, an engineered stressstrain curve with reduced strength at large strain after yielding, i.e. strength degradation, is proposed which is incorporated into the nite element models in subsequent analyses. While the ultimate tensile strength and the corresponding strain are based on coupon (tensile) tests, the same curves are assumed to be valid to the same material under compression. In order to incorporate the effect of strength degradation at large compressive strain, a negative slope is added to the curve after the ultimate compressive strength is reached. The value of the negative slope in the strength degradation portion is selected as twice that of the post-yielding tangent modulus of the steel. This was established after a trial-and-error process in matching the predicted loadextension curves to the measured ones. The compressive strength was then reduced linearly to zero at a strain around 50%; the nite element model with such a material curve is referred to as FEA-pr. A third nite element model was also used with a bilinear stressstrain curve. The yield strength is based on the measured tensile strength, Us, of the material obtained in coupon tests. The nite element model with such a material curve is referred to as FEA-Us. Table 4 summarizes the material properties of the
Table 4 Properties of components of bolted connections in nite element analyses Components Elastic modulus Yield strength (N/mm2) (kN/mm2)

cold-formed steel strips, the boltwasher component, and also the hot rolled steel plate used in the nite element models. The proposed stressstrain curves are presented in Fig. 1b and 1c for G550 and G300 strip steel, respectively; the proposed stressstrain curves are assumed to be rate-independent. It should be noted that the proposed stressstrain curves are conservative when compared with a similar approach reported in a nite element modeling of local fracture [27]. Due to large local deformation in the cold-formed steel strips around the bolt holes in direct contact with bolt shanks, plasticity is considered by incorporating the von Mises yield criterion, the PrandtlReuss ow rule together with isotropic (work) hardening rule. The criterion determines the stress level at the onset of yielding while the ow rule relates the stress increments to strain increments during plastic deformation. This allows the yield surface to change in size with progressive yielding in the cold-formed steel strips in the vicinity of bolt holes. 6.3. Contact stiffness, frictional coefcient and clamping force in the bolt In order to model the contact condition between the cold-formed steel strips and the boltwasher component, the generation of contact elements according to the penalty technique recommended by Cook [28] was employed in the nite element models. Each contact element is dened by a node (contact node) on one surface and four other nodes on another surface (target surface), and thus, each contact element is tetrahedral in shape. Compatibility between the interfaces is secured by preventing each contact node from over-penetrating the associated target surfaces through the development

Tensile strength Elongation limit Formulation of elements (N/mm2)

CFS strips G550 (t = 1.56 mm) G300 (t = 1.46 mm) Boltwasher Hot rolled steel plates

216.5 204.2 205.0

620.7 320.5

638.4 453.6

1.25% 20.0%

Material & geometrical non-linear Material & geometrical non-linear Elastic linear Rigid

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of contact forces. These forces act on contact nodes and have components both normal and tangential to the associated target surface in general. While normal forces are developed to full the compatibility requirement, the compatibility control is governed by a contact stiffness which should be large enough to maintain accuracy but small enough to safeguard convergence. In the present investigation, all the nodes associated with the cold-formed steel strips around bolt holes are assigned as contact nodes while facets of the shank are selected as target surfaces. Contact elements were generated between each contact node and all the target faces. In a similar manner, contact conditions for the cold-formed steel strips to the washer and also to the hot rolled steel plate are established. It should be noted that the maximum number of contact nodes to each target surface was controlled by initial separations between the components. The value of the contact stiffness is assigned to be 2000 N/mm after a trial-and-error process in comparing the measured and the predicted loadextension curves of a number of test specimens. Tangential forces are also developed as a result of friction and the elastic Coulomb friction coefcient, m, is taken to be 0.2 for all contact interfaces. Both the values of the contact stiffness and the friction coefcient are assumed to remain constant throughout the analysis. Bolt clamping is also incorporated by considering a bolt shank whose length is less than the thickness of the cold-formed steel strip typically by 5%, and thus, initially the washer penetrates into the cold-formed steel strips in the geometry of the nite element model. During the rst iteration of the analysis, the washer and the cold-formed steel strips will push against each other by inducing tensile stresses in the bolt shank while compressive stresses in areas beneath the washer are established. Equilibrium should be achieved in order to produce the clamping forces in the bolt shank due to bolt installation before the nite element model is loaded in shear. Experience shows that successful production of the clamping forces in bolt shanks will eliminate numerical divergence in subsequent iterations, enabling the smooth computation of the entire loadextension curves. 6.4. Solution procedure The nite element model incorporates material, geometrical and contact non-linearity, and therefore, nonlinear analysis is required. In the present investigation, the solution procedure requires the full load to be applied in a series of small increments so that the solutions may follow the loadextension curves closely. A value of 5% is recommended as the maximum plastic strain increment after each incremental load. In order to simulate the lap shear test results, a series of displacement increments is applied to the end of the cold-formed steel

strips up to a total extension of 3 mm. The size of each increment is automatically adjusted by the program which limits the increment for plastic strain to be less than 5%. On average, the displacement increment is found to be 0.25 mm, corresponding to an increment of 3.5% plastic strain. With this strain level, the individual elements may exhibit signicant changes in shape and orientation so that their stiffnesses and nodal displacements will affect each other considerably. Consequently, this is a highly non-linear problem and at each sub-step, the solution is obtained through a number of equilibrium iterations. This is accomplished by the full NewtonRaphson procedure in which all the nodal displacements, the out-of-balance forces, and the tangent stiffness matrix of the structure are updated after each equilibrium iteration. A force-based convergence criterion is adopted which requires the square root of the sum of squares (SRSS) of the load imbalance to be less than 1% of the SRSS of the applied loads in an equilibrium iteration. Attempts with other solution schemes such as the modied NewtonRaphson procedure are found to be unsuccessful due to numerical divergence.

7. Results of nite element analyses Three nite element models with different stress strain curves, namely, FEA-py, FEA-Us and FEA-pr, are employed to examine the loadextension curves of lap shear test specimens with cold-formed steel strips of different grades and thicknesses, and washers of different sizes. Typical deformed shape of the bolted connection is presented in Fig. 6c and the results of the nite element analyses are presented below. 7.1. Loadextension curves The loadextension curves of a number of bolted connections are successfully predicted and they are plotted in the same graphs of the relevant test data, i.e. in Figs. 4 and 5, for direct comparison. It is shown that both the measured and the predicted loadextension curves follow each other very closely in terms of both initial and nal slopes, and also maximum load carrying capacities, after allowing for variation in material properties and geometrical dimensions of the test specimens. 7.2. Load carrying capacities In order to avoid excessive deformation in connections, the maximum resistance of the bolted connections is assumed to be equal to the applied load at 3 mm extension. The resistances of the nite element models at specic extensions are presented in Table 5 together with the average load carrying capacities of the test specimens for direct comparison.

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Table 5 Results of lap shear tests and nite element analyses Test Lap shear tests Finite element analyses

formed steel strips with high yield strength and low ductility. The nite element model FEA-pr is used in the subsequent analysis for G550 test specimens. 7.4. G300 test specimens

PFEA

or PLST/PFEA Us pr py Us pr

PLST

py

Connection resistance of (kN) A11A 20.14 20.00 A11B 17.48 20.78 A21A 14.83 12.36 A21B 14.77 12.46 Connection resistance of (kN) A11A 26.14 27.48 A11B 24.27 27.86 A21A 18.06 16.84 A21B 18.94 16.92 Connection resistance of (kN) A11A 28.90 32.88 A11B 28.69 32.94 A21A 18.53 20.03 A21B 20.56 20.36

bolted connections at 1 mm extension 21.04 21.00 12.80 12.88 20.20 20.18 12.80 12.88 1.01 0.84 1.20 1.18 0.96 0.83 1.16 1.15 1.00 0.87 1.16 1.15

bolted connections at 2 mm extension 28.34 28.32 18.58 18.70 25.82 25.82 18.46 18.70 0.95 0.87 1.07 1.12 0.92 0.86 0.97 1.01 1.01 0.94 0.98 1.01

bolted connections at 3 mm extension 33.34 33.40 22.04 22.12 28.94 28.92 22.04 22.12 0.88 0.87 0.93 1.01 0.87 0.86 0.84 0.93 1.00 0.99 0.84 0.93

A model factor, , is established to measure the effectiveness of the nite element modeling which is dened as follows: Resistance measured from lap shear test Resistance predicted by finite element model A unity model factor implies that the nite element modeling is accurate in predicting the load carrying capacities of bolted connections. For model factors larger than unity, the nite element modeling is conservative. It is shown in Table 5 that the model factors of all three nite element models at various extensions vary within a narrow range between 0.83 and 1.20, indicating the general effectiveness of the nite element models. The ndings of the nite element analyses are presented below. 7.3. G550 test specimens It is shown that the nite element models with bilinear stressstrain curves, i.e. FEA-Us and FEA-py, always give a resistance at 3 mm extension about 15% higher than that of FEA-pr, i.e. with strength degradation. The model factors of both FEA-py and FEA-Us are around 0.87 while those of FEA-pr are very close to unity. This conrms the suitability of the proposed stressstrain curves with strength degradation for cold-

It is shown that the nite element models FEA-Us and FEA-pr tend to give a resistance at 3 mm extension about 10% higher than that of FEA-py. The model factors of both FEA-Us and FEA-pr are around 0.89 while that of FEA-py is around 0.96. It should be noted that as observed from lap shear tests, strip curling occurs at an extension of about 2 mm, and before the peak loads are reached. However, in the nite element models, curling of the ends of the cold-formed steel strips occurs at an extension larger than 4 mm. This implies that the nite element models slightly overestimate the load carrying capacities at 3 mm as strip curling has not yet been captured. However, strip curling is unlikely to occur in typical connection arrangements in practice, and accurate modeling of strip curling is, thus, considered not to be critical. It is interesting to note that the model factors of nite element models FEA-py, FEA-Us and FEA-pr at 2 mm extension are 1.10, 0.99 and 0.99, respectively. It is apparent that nite element model FEA-py is very conservative due to low yield strength value. In contrast, the nite element model FEA-Us gives better results due to higher yield strength. However, the variation in local deformation and diversied strain levels within the bolted connections are not considered at all in the model. As the nite element model FEA-pr has allowed for strength degradation at large strain and achieved a model factor of almost unity, it is thus suggested that the proposed stressstrain curve with strength degradation is also suitable for cold-formed steel strips with low yield strength and high ductility. It is shown that for cold-formed steel strips with high strength and low ductility, the resistance of the bolted connections is typically 15% lower than those steels with bi-linear stressstrain curves, i.e. without strength degradation. As most of the existing design expressions are developed and calibrated against test data of cold-formed steel strips without strength degradation, the same design rules should be applied cautiously when calculating the bearing resistance of high strength cold-formed steel strips with low ductility. 7.5. Stress distribution The von Mises stress distribution around bolt holes of G550 test specimens A11A in the cold-formed steel strips at three different extensions are presented in Fig. 7. It is shown that for those elements around the bolt hole in direct contact with the bolt shank, the stresses are typically several times the applied stress, revealing

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Fig. 7. Stress distribution of bolted connection G550 specimen A11A with extension of: (a) 0.50 mm; (b) 1.50 mm; (c) 3.00 mm.

Fig. 8. Strain components of bolted connection G550 specimen A11A at 3 mm extension.

high stress concentration due to direct end bearing. As the extension increases, yielding occurs in these elements and the yield zone increases in size rapidly as shown in Fig. 7. It should be noted that at 3 mm extension, the stresses of these elements are only one-third of the yield strength of the cold-formed steel strips. Fig. 8 illustrates the large strain variations in the vicinity of these elements. A 40% strain is predicted as the maximum direct strain ex, conrming large plastic ow of materials around the bolt hole in direct contact with the bolt shank, as observed in lap shear tests. The strains of those elements of interest may also be obtained through the proposed stressstrain curves based on the stress distribution in Fig. 7. Consequently, the nite element model is considered effective in predicting the bearing failure of the coldformed steel strips in the bolted connections. It is interesting to plot the von Mises stress distribution along a cross-section containing the elements of interest at various extensions. Fig. 9 illustrates the extent of material yielding in the vicinity of bolt hole across the width of the test specimen A11A at various extensions. The von Mises stress distributions around a bolt hole of the G300 test specimen A21A at three different extensions are also presented in Fig. 10. It is shown that at 3 mm extension, yielding is only conned to a small area

Fig. 9. Von Mises stress distribution of bolted connection G550 specimen A11A.

of material when compared with the G550 test specimens. Therefore, strength degradation is less signicant for those steel with high ductility. 7.6. Yield zones The von Mises stress distribution of the nite element models FEA-py and FEA-pr for test specimen A11A at 3 mm extension are shown in Fig. 11. It should be noted that while the yield zones in both models are of similar sizes, strength degradation in nite element model FEApr is apparent due to large local strains in the elements in direct contact with the bolt shank. The presence of strength degradation leads to 15% reduction in the load

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individual bolts may occur, and the load carrying capacities of the bolted connections may be reduced. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the yield zones may also be affected by the connement provided by the washers, depending on their sizes and stiffnesses (thicknesses). 7.7. Resistance contribution of bearing and frictional actions In addition to the end bearing resistance of the coldformed steel strips in direct contact with the bolt shank, frictional resistance may be developed along the contact interfaces with the washers. In general, the frictional forces are dependent on the clamping forces in the bolts, the frictional coefcient between the contact interfaces, and also the sizes of the washers. Table 6 summarizes the results of nite element analyses for test specimens A11A and A21A with different values of frictional coefcient, m, at the contact interfaces of the bolted connections at various extensions. It is shown that the frictional resistance is well developed in the early stage of deformation, such as 0.5 mm extension, and remains reasonably constant thereafter. The bearing resistance is only a fraction of the frictional resistance initially but increases rapidly at subsequent extensions. It should be noted that with a frictional coefcient of 0.2, the resistance contribution of frictional action accounts for 18% and 22% of the load carrying capacities for G550 and G300 test specimens, respectively. This is broadly consistent with the ndings of the lap shear tests. In the case when m is increased to 0.4, the frictional forces will increase typically by 70% as shown in Table 6 while the bearing resistance of the cold-formed steel strips remains reasonably constant. The load carrying capacities of the connections will increase by 15%. Consequently, the load carrying capacity is not sensitive to the value of the friction coefcient. It should be noted that the clamping forces in the bolts increase signicantly during deformation as shown in Table 7. For test specimen A11A at 3 mm extension, the clamping force in the bolt is increased by over 80% when compared with the initial value. However, as the yield strength of the bolts is always much higher than those of the steel strips, the tensile capacities of the bolts are rarely critical. It is interesting to note that an increase of clamping forces in bolt shanks does not produce an increase in the frictional resistance, as shown in Table 6. This may be explained by the fact that the effective frictional coefcient between materials undergoing progressive yielding is actually diminishing, rather than remaining constant, as assumed in the nite element analyses.

Fig. 10. A21A.

Stress distribution of bolted connection G300 specimen

Fig. 11. Stress distribution of bolted connection G550 specimen A11A at 3 mm extension.

carrying capacity of the connection compared with the nite element model FEA-py. It should be noted that for connections with bolts at close spacing, interaction between the yield zones of

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Table 6 Resistance contributions of both bearing and friction actions in bolted connectionsa Test Extension Friction coefcient = 0.0 (mm) P (kN) 9.46 15.78 19.92 22.70 25.20 4.26 10.66 12.34 15.98 19.12 Pbf (kN) 9.42 15.70 19.84 22.62 25.16 4.22 10.62 12.26 15.94 19.08 Pbf/Pm Friction coefcient = 0.2 P (kN) 12.88 20.20 24.26 25.82 28.94 9.74 12.80 16.86 18.46 22.04 Pff (kN) 4.88 5.00 5.16 5.24 5.04 4.48 4.48 4.72 4.40 4.36 Pff/Pm Pbf (kN) 8.00 15.20 19.10 20.58 23.90 5.26 8.32 12.14 14.06 17.68 Pbf/Pm Friction coefcient = 0.4 P (kN) 17.62 23.76 27.58 30.30 31.82 13.34 16.30 19.74 21.30 24.10 Pff (kN) 9.60 9.52 9.52 9.56 8.76 8.80 8.60 8.52 8.40 7.40 Pff/Pm Pbf (kN) 8.02 14.24 18.06 20.74 23.06 4.54 7.70 11.22 12.90 16.70 Pbf/Pm

A11A

0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 3.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 3.00

0.37 0.62 0.79 0.90 1.00 0.22 0.56 0.64 0.83 1.00

0.17 0.17 0.18 0.18 0.17 0.20 0.20 0.21 0.20 0.20

0.28 0.53 0.66 0.71 0.83 0.24 0.38 0.55 0.64 0.80

0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.28 0.37 0.36 0.35 0.35 0.31

0.25 0.45 0.57 0.65 0.72 0.19 0.32 0.47 0.54 0.69

A21A

a P, Resistance of connection predicted in FEM; Pff, resistance contribution of friction action; Pbf, resistance contribution of bearing action; Pm, maximum resistance of connection at 3 mm extension.

Table 7 Clamping force developed in bolt shank at various extensionsa Test Extension Friction coefcient = 0.2 P (kN) 0.00 12.88 20.20 24.26 25.82 28.94 0.00 9.74 12.80 16.86 18.46 22.04 PBT (kN) 10.90 12.36 13.38 14.70 15.42 18.00 9.84 11.34 11.72 12.70 12.80 13.16 PBT/Pm

mm A11A 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 3.00 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 3.00

assigned with a value of 2000 N/mm, provided that the elastic modulus of the cold-formed steel is around 205 kN/mm2. 3. The frictional coefcient may be assigned a value of 0.2, corresponding to a smooth contact surface. The clamping force is typically in the range 510 kN.

0.38 0.43 0.46 0.51 0.53 0.62 0.45 0.51 0.53 0.58 0.58 0.60

9. Conclusions A nite element modeling on bolted connections between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates was carried out with non-linear material, geometrical and contact analysis. Based on the results of coupon tests, an engineered stressstrain curve with strength degradation for cold-formed steel under both tension and compression is proposed and incorporated into the model. Twelve lap shear tests with two steel grades, one bolt diameter and two washer sizes were carried out to calibrate the nite element models. It is found that for extensions up to 3 mm, the loadextension curves of the bolted connections compare well with test data in terms of both the initial and the nal slopes, and also the maximum load carrying capacities. With the help of nite element modeling, the patterns of yielding and strength degradation, and the strain distribution around the connections are established in detail. Typical strain levels in the cold-formed steel strips in the vicinity of bolt holes are found to be 40%. Therefore, it is important to incorporate reduced strength at large strains for accurate prediction of the load carrying capacities of bolted connections. Furthermore, it is also found that the frictional resistance contributes typically 20% of the load carrying capacities of the bolted connections. This depends on the clamping forces in bolts, the

A21A

a P, Resistance of connection predicted in FEM; PBT, clamping force developed in bolt shank; Pm, maximum resistance of connection at 3 mm extension.

8. Recommended procedure of nite element modeling In order to effectively model a bolted connection between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plate, the following data are recommended. 1. The tensile stressstrain curve may be a bi-linear stressstrain curve based on results from coupon tests. The compressive and tensile stressstrain curves are similar, but strength degradation should be incorporated with a negative slope of twice the post-yielding tangent modulus after the maximum compressive strength has been reached. 2. The contact stiffness of the contact interfaces may be

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frictional coefcient between contact interfaces, and also the sizes of washers. Consequently, the nite element model is an effective tool to investigate the structural performance of bolted connections between cold-formed steel strips and hot rolled steel plates under static shear loading. The failure mode under the present investigation is the bearing failure of cold-formed steel strips around the bolt holes while other modes of failure may be readily investigated. A recommended nite element modeling procedure is also presented. It is shown that for cold-formed steel strips with high strength and low ductility, the resistance of the bolted connections is typically 15% lower than those steels with bi-linear stressstrain curves, i.e. without strength degradation. As most of the existing design expressions are developed and calibrated against test data of cold-formed steel strips without strength degradation, it is recommended that these design rules are applied in calculating the bearing resistance of high strength cold-formed steel strips with low ductility.

References
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Acknowledgements The work described in this paper was supported by a grant for the project Moment connections among coldformed steel members in buildings from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Project No. PolyU5031/98E) and a grant for the project Mechanical enhancement of connections between cold-formed steel members of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Research Committee (Project No. G-S565).

Appendix A. True stress and true strain The engineering stressstrain curve obtained from conventional coupon tests does not give a true indication of the deformation characteristics of a material at large strain as it is based entirely on the original dimensions of the specimens whilst the dimensions of the material change continuously during the test. Consequently, both the true strain, e, and the true stress, s, should be used for any strain level greater than 0.01 and may be evaluated as follows [28]: e ln(1 e), where e L , s L P (1 Ao e)

where L is the change in length, L is the original length, Ao is the original area, and P is the applied force.

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International Conference on Advances in Steel Structures, Hong Kong, December 1999, in press. [24] Chung KF, Ip KH. Finite element modelling of double bolted connections between cold-formed steel strips under static shear loading. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Advances in Steel Structures, Hong Kong, December 1999, in press. [25] User Manual of ANSYS for Revision 5.0Procedures Volume I. Swanson Analysis Systems, Inc., USA, 1994.

[26] Bathe KJ. Finite element procedures. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs (NJ), 1996. [27] Fan L, Rondal J, Cescotto S. Finite element modeling of single lap screw connections in steel sheeting under static shear. ThinWalled Struct 1997;27(2):16585. [28] Cook RD, Malkus DS, Plesha ME. Concepts and applications of nite element analysis. 3rd ed. John Wiley and Sons, 1989.