• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2015

Well-designed bolted connections can exhibit excellent ductile behavior through bearing mechanism until the occurrence of bolt shear rupture. The ultimate strength analysis of eccentric bolted connections is an economical and mechanistic approach which uses such ductility. However, the bolt load-deformation relationship, which forms basis of the current practice, is based on very limited combinations of bolt and steel materials. The primary objective of this study was to establish the general bolt force-deformation relationship based on systematic single-bolt bearing connection tests. The test results showed that the projected area of the bolt hole and the strength and thickness of the plate to be connected are the main factors affecting the force-deformation relationship. The results of this study can be used for the instantaneous center of rotation method (ICRM) to achieve more accurate analysis and economical design of a variety of group-bolted connections subjected to eccentric shear.