Strength and deformation of stainless steel bolted joints with reference to Eurocode 3

Abstract

The ductile nature of stainless steel guarantees an excellent global joint behaviour, but its non linear stress-strain curve and the relatively low value of the yield to ultimate strength ratio may require some attention in design, because excessive joint deformations may occur at the serviceability limit state. The EC3-1.4 requirements for stainless steel joint design are essentially the same as those for carbon steel. Since the latter are generally based on the concept of strength only, some modifications were introduced to avoid excessive deformations in stainless steel joints at the serviceability limit state. In this paper, the results from an experimental study about cover-plate joints are compared to the predicted values, calculated according to EC3-1.4. The test results show that while the different ultimate state joint strengths are safely predicted, the net section and bearing resistances are underestimated. A presentation of the major differences between carbon and stainless steel joints behaviour is given, concerning the Ultimate and Serviceability Limit States criteria for bearing, net and gross sections.