Load-bearing capacity of occlusive high-strength bolt connections

• A new occlusive high-strength bolt (OHSB) connection is developed.
• Tests on eighteen high-strength bolt connections were carried out.
• The bolt pretension and groove size affected the behavior of OHSB connections.
• The proposed FE models can simulate the mechanical performance of OHSB connections.
• To develop a further understanding, parametric analyses were performed.

Based on the conventional high-strength bolt connection, a new occlusive high-strength bolt (OHSB) connection was developed. In this paper, tests on eighteen connections including four conventional high-strength bolt connections and fourteen OHSB connections were carried out. The main failure mode of these conventional high-strength bolt connections was the shear rupture of bolts, while the main failure mode of these OHSB connections was the dislocation of plates and the loose of bolts. It is found that the load-bearing capacity of OHSB connections was improved significantly. Moreover, both the bolt pretension and the groove size had an important effect on the bearing behavior of OHSB connections. Finite element (FE) models implemented in the non-linear code ABAQUS were established and were verified against the experimental results. It is indicated that the FE models can be used effectively to describe the mechanical performance of OHSB connections, including the failure modes and load–displacement curves. To develop a further understanding, parametric analyses which consider the influence of the bolt pretension and the groove size on the load-bearing capacity of OHSB connections were performed.