Bolt stripping failure and ductility of end plate beam-column connections at ambient and elevated temperatures

The effect of bolt stripping failure on the ductility of steel end plate beam-column connections has received relatively little investigation to date. Stripping failure is a brittle failure modes which results in the premature failure of a connection without developing its ultimate rotational capacity. This paper proposes a novel finite element (FE) methodology for end plate connections at both ambient and elevated temperatures which predicts the mechanical behaviour and failure modes observed in experimental tests including bolt stripping failure. Furthermore, the validated FE model was used to investigate the effect of stripping failure on both the rotational and load-bearing capacity of end plate connections. It is concluded that thick end plates can prevent stripping failure which significantly improves the rotational capacity of the connection. The rotational capacity of a connection can be 5.0 times higher if stripping failure is avoided, particularly at elevated temperatures. Eurocode 3 part 1.8
does not consider the possibility of stripping failure when discussing the requirements for plastic analysis, however the stripping failure can result in premature failure of the connection preventing the end plate achieving its plastic capacity.