Experimental investigation of cold-formed steel screw connection

This paper presents a test program on screw connections of thin steel sheets using single shear connection and moment connection tests. The structural behavior of the screw connections were studied by varying the thickness of the steel sheets, number and arrangement of screws for each connection. The failure loads and failure modes were obtained from the tests. The failure modes observed were net section tension, tilting and bearing failure. No buckling was observed in the moment connection joint. The test strength was compared with the predicted strength using the current specifications for cold-formed steel structures. It is shown that the strength of the single shear screw connection predicted by the current specifications is generally conservative. However, the strength predicted for the moment connection joint is not conservative