Effect of Loading Direction on the Bearing Capacity of Cold-Reduced Steel Sheets

This study is concerned with double-shear bolted connections in cold-reduced steel sheets that undergo the pure bearing failure mode of the inside sheet. Compared to the published test results of bolted connections failing in the net section fracture, those involving the bearing failure mode had very wide scatter in the ultimate test loads of specimens having seemingly similar configurations. This technical note presents the laboratory test results of 51 specimens composed of G2 and G450 steel sheets, which have very different ductility properties. One new and significant finding is that the absolute bearing capacity can be considerably higher in the rolling direction of the cold-reduced steel sheet than in the perpendicular direction, even though the tensile strength has the opposite trend. Another result is that material ductility has a much greater effect on the bearing capacity than on the net section tension capacity. It was also found that snug tightening had little effect on the bearing capacity of specimens thicker than 1.5 mm. For the inside sheet of a double-shear bolted connection, the current American Iron and Steel Institute provision for bearing capacity is reasonably accurate if the load is applied in the rolling direction of G2 steel sheet, but is overoptimistic in the perpendicular direction.