Experimental Evaluation of Single-Bolted Lap Joints at Elevated Temperatures

In U.S. building construction, typical simple (shear) connections are often bolted for flexibility during fabrication and construction. This paper summarizes the results of experimental investigations of bolted lap-splice joints at elevated temperatures. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of previously tested bolted lap-splice joints at elevated temperatures and a new testing series performed by the authors. Bolted lap-splice joints represent a simple approximation of simple bolted connections. The authors tested specimens using steady-state conditions at targeted temperatures. The tests considered two failure modes: bolt shear fracture and bolt bearing. The authors considered varying parameters within the connection such as bolt diameter, edge distance, and thickness of plate. The results of these experiments are temperature-dependent bolt shear fracture capacities and experimentally measured axial force–deformation–temperature relationships. The temperature-dependent bolt shear fracture capacities are compared with those capacities previously measured by other researchers and the temperature-dependent retention factors provided in Eurocode. The axial force–deformation relationships are compared with previously developed numerical models.