Bearing failure analysis in the design of bolted connections with austenitic stainless steel

The use of stainless steel in structures has been improved; nevertheless, the application of this material is not considered trivial by most designers, as there as still limited design codes providing specific rules. Current codes provide conservative approaches in certain cases, which do not corroborate with the objective of reducing the initial cost of projects incorporating stainless steel. In order to contribute to an adequate comprehension about the structural behavior of austenitic steel in bolted connections, a study was conducted regarding the influence of geometric parameters on the connections with a bolt under two shear planes, encompassing the evaluation of the phenomenon recognized as curling. Concerning to conclusions, it was observed that the geometric parameters e1, e2, d0, affects the curling effects, which has the potential to compromise the structural behavior of a thin‐plate connection if this deformation is greater than the thickness of the plate. Furthermore, the results provided by the equations employed in the design codes was assessed in this study, revealing an adequate prediction of the SCI in terms of the failure mode. However, both the manual and current codes exhibited conservative load for the investigated connections.