Numerical study on behaviour of T‐stubs with bolts in tapped holes

Abstract

Bolts in tapped holes (BTH) use threads on the bolt hole wall as an anchorage instead of nuts used in standard bolt assemblies. Requirements for BTH application are given in the draft version of new Eurocode prEN 1993‐1‐8, including the definition of minimum thread engagement lengths. BTH connected T‐stubs under tension were investigated in analytical parametric study to determine the influence of thread engagement length requirements on general applicability of BTH. FE models of BTH connected T‐stubs in tension were created and validated with experimental results. Analytical and FEM parametric studies were conducted in order to clearly investigate the difference between thread engagement length requirements, with the aim of possibly alleviating the minimum thread engagement requirements and enabling better applicability of BTH in structural steel joints.