Reliability analysis of eccentrically loaded bolted connections in direct shear and tension using approximate procedure

Reliability analysis of eccentric connection fabricated from grade S275 steel plates, in direct shear and tension using approximate method of analysis in accordance with BS5950 (2000) was carried using First Order Reliability Method (FORM). Design variables such as applied load, eccentricity of applied loading, bolt diameter; considering various failure criteria of the connection were considered random and stochastic. It was shown among other findings that, the target safety indices of tensile, shear and combined failure criteria are 3.59, 5.13 and 2.26 respectively. Based on JCCS (2001), while shear design criterion is safe and uneconomical, tensile design criterion is satisfactory and combined criterion is economical and tends to unsafe region. The shear and combined design criteria therefore need to be reviewed in order to achieve a balanced design that gives a better compromise between safety and economy