Abstract

Abstract The direction of bolts and its effect on the bearing capacity of double shear bolted connections has been examined in this paper. Sixteen specimens with up to four bolts have been tested under tensile load. These specimens have been sorted into two series (L, T) according to the bolt direction with applied loads The experimental results have clearly indicated that the bearing capacity of connections had been considerably affected by changing the direction of bolts. With tear-out failure, All specimens of L series showed high bearing capacity and good ductility while block shear failure was the distinguishing feature of specimens of T series.