Simplified Modelling of Failure in High Strength Bolts under Combined Tension and Bending

Bolted connections are widely adopted in steel structures and their behaviour affects to a large extent the global response of the system. High-strength bolts of type HV are commonly employed. Under pure tension, these bolt assemblies usually fail by thread stripping. However, it was observed experimentally that, under combined tension and bending, the failure mode changes to fracture of the shank. The former loading condition commonly occurs in the case of thick extended end plate connections and the latter in the case of flush end plates. In order to analyse the behaviour of the structure, the finite element method (FEM) is usually employed. While there is a wealth of information on FEM modelling of bolts for standard loading conditions (e.g., tension), the authors are unaware of a model able to replicate both tension-only and combined tension and bending conditions. In this paper, a simplified approach to be used in the framework of FEM is proposed to model the behaviour of high-strength HV bolts which can replicate the failure mechanism of bolts under tension only and combined tension and bending. The bolt assembly is modelled with continuum elements, supplemented by a non-linear spring connecting the nut to the bolt shank. The spring captures the stiffness, resistance, and ductility of the bolt-to-nut threaded connection, reproducing the experimentally observed failure mode in the case of pure tension conditions. A simplified damage model is applied to the continuum finite elements used to model the bolt, which replicates shank failure under combined tension and bending as a result of large local stresses and strains occurring under these conditions. The proposed model captures with good accuracy the actual behaviour of high-strength HV bolts under tension only as well as under combined tension and bending