Chapter 4 – Bolted Connections

Discussion:
I. Types of Bolts
1. Unfinished Bolt - Known in construction circles by several names—ordinary, common,
machine, or rough—unfinished bolts are characterized chiefly by the rough appearance of
the shank. They are classified by the ASTM as A302 bolts and are made from carbon steels
with stress-strain characteristics similar to those of A-36 steel.
2. High Strength Bolt – Also known as High Strength Friction Grip Bolt (HSFG). They are made
from medium-carbon heat treated steel and from alloy steel and have tensile strengths
greater than those of ordinary bolts. They are designated as A325 and A490 bolts.

II. Types of Bolted Connections

1. Slip-Critical or Friction Type Connection - The high-strength bolt clamps the connected parts
in such a way that the shearing force is resisted by the friction between the parts, not by the
shear on the body of the bolts. This is often denoted on drawings as “SC”
2. Bearing Type Connection - A bolted connection that assumes that shear forces are
transmitted by the bolt bearing against the sides of the holes in the connected material. Often
denote on drawings with an “X”.

III. Sizes and Types of holes for bolts

1. Oversized Holes – they are used in all plies of connection as long as the applied load does not
exceed the allowable slip resistance. They should not be used in bearing type connection.
2. Short-Slotted Holes – they are used regardless of the direction of the applied load if the
permissible slip resistance is larger than the applied force. If the load be applied in a direction
normal to the slot, these holes maybe used in any bearing type connections.
3. Long-Slotted Holes – they are used in only one of the connected parts of friction type or
bearing type connections. For friction type these holes maybe used in any direction but for
bearing type connections the load must be normal to the axis of the slotted holes. If long-
slotted holes are used in an outer ply, they will need to be covered by plate washers.

IV. Types of Bolted Connections

V. Bolted Connection Failure Modes

VI. Minimum Spacing and Edge Distance

VII. Design Shear and Tension Strength of Bolt
∅𝑹𝒏 = ∅𝑭𝒏 𝑨𝒃 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑳𝑹𝑭𝑫
𝑹 𝒏 𝑭 𝒏 𝑨𝒃
= 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝑺𝑫
𝛀 𝛀
Where
φ = 0.75
Ω = 2.0
Rn = Nominal shear strength or nominal tension strength of the bolt, kN
Fn = Nominal shear stress (Fnv) or nominal tension stress (Fnt), kPa
Ab = Nominal unthreaded body area of bolt, mm 2
VIII. Bearing Strength of Bolt Holes
For NSCP 2015:
1. For a bolt connection with standard, oversized, and short-slotted holes, independent of the
direction of loading, or a long-slotted hole with the slot parallel to the direction of the bearing
force:
i. When deformation at the bolt hole at service load is a design consideration
𝑹𝒏 = 𝟏. 𝟐𝑳𝒄 𝒕𝑭𝒖 ≤ 𝟐. 𝟒𝒅𝒕𝑭𝒖
ii. When deformation at the bolt hole at service load is not a design consideration
𝑹𝒏 = 𝟏. 𝟓𝑳𝒄 𝒕𝑭𝒖 ≤ 𝟑. 𝟎𝒅𝒕𝑭𝒖
2. For a bolt in a connection with long-slotted holes with the slot perpendicular to the direction
of force:
𝑹𝒏 = 𝟏. 𝟎𝑳𝒄 𝒕𝑭𝒖 ≤ 𝟐. 𝟎𝒅𝒕𝑭𝒖
Where
φ = 0.75
Ω = 2.0
d = nominal bolt diameter, mm
Fu = specified minimum tensile strength of the connected material, MPa
Lc = clear distance, in the direction of the force, between the edge of the hole and the edge
of the adjacent hole or edge of the material, mm
t = thickness of connected material
For connections, the bearing resistance shall be taken as the sum of the bearing resistances
of the individual bolts.
For NSCP 2001
 Bearing Capacity of Bolts
𝑻 = 𝟏. 𝟐𝑭𝒖 𝒅𝒕
Exercise Problems:
1. A bolted bearing type connection shown in the figure consists of 16 mm x 150 mm steel plates with
22 mm diameter A325 bolts and A572 Grade 50 plate material with standard holes (F y = 345.6 MPa).
Minimum tensile strength Fu = 449.3 MPa. Allowable shearing stress Fv = 207 MPa for bolt threads
excluded from shear plane. Diameter of hole is 3 mm bigger than bolt diameter.
a. Determine the tensile capacity of the bearing
type connection if the bolt threads are excluded
from the shear plane.
b. Determine the tensile capacity of the bearing
type connection if the bolt threads are included
in the shear plane. Allowable shear stress Fv =
145 MPa

2. Two plates each with thickness t = 16 mm are bolted together with 6-22 diameter bolts forming a
lap connection. Bolt spacing are as follows S 1 = 40 mm, S2 = 80 mm, S3 = 100 mm.
Bolt hole diameter = 25 mm
Allowable stress:
Shear stress of the bolt: Fv = 120 MPa
Tensile strength Fu = 400 MPa
Calculate the permissible tensile load P under the
following conditions.
a. Based on shear capacity of bolts.
b. Based on bearing capacity of bolts.
c. Based on block shear strength.