Investigating the Effects of Adhesive on the Shear Capacity of Bolted Steel Connections

Recently, there has been a particular emphasis on the use of structural adhesives in steel connection systems. Applying adhesives that possess both high strength and flexibility would be highly advantageous for structural purposes. In this study, experimental tests are conducted on two main different types of steel-plate connections; namely, bolted connections and bolted connections with glue. The number of bolts ranged from one to eight for each connection type, such that a total of seven specimens of each type are tested. Additionally, one specimen with only glue is also tested for comparison. The findings indicated that the inclusion of up to four bolts with glue along the connection does not significantly increase the ultimate stress. This can be attributed to the non-uniform distribution of normal stresses, induced by the tightening of the small number of bolts that are not arranged across the entire connection region, on the capacity of the connection in the perpendicular direction. Thus, the connection could have been adequately established the same capacity through the use of adhesive alone. In contrast, the capacity is increased up to 60% and 100% when six or eight bolts are added, respectively, compared to the use of the connection with glue only. A three-dimensional finite-element analysis is developed based on the tested connections using ABAQUS/Explicit software. The glued interface between two steel plates is modelled using cohesive and damage criteria. The results are demonstrated to be consistent with the experimental findings. Keywords: ABAQUS, Adhesive, Bolts, Finite-element analysis, Shear, Steel connections