Predicting the Shear Strength of Mechanical Clinching in Cold-Formed Steel Structures
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 3
Abstract
Mechanical clinching was developed originally for the automotive industry. It is now starting to be used in the construction industry in the fabrication of cold-formed steel building systems. Effective, efficient, and reliable structural connections can be formed using the technique. The strength of mechanical clinching is affected by a number of factors including steel thickness and strength, direction of applied load, and the geometric configuration of the clinching tools. This paper summarizes the results of a large number of tests on mechanical clinching that formed part of a research program into the application of clinching in cold-formed steel structures. Different modes of failure occur in the two orthogonal directions of applied shear. Theoretical expressions are derived to predict the strength of mechanical clinching based on the two different failure modes. Good agreement with the experimental results is obtained. It is also shown that the strength of mechanical clinches subjected to shear applied at intermediate angles can be predicted reliably by linear interpolation between the strengths in each of the two orthogonal directions.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Metsec PLC, and Eckold GMBH.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 18 • Issue 3 • June 2006
Pages: 435 - 442
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 16, 2004
Accepted: Jun 1, 2005
Published online: Jun 1, 2006
Published in print: Jun 2006
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: David Trejo
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