SCI ADVISORY DESK

AD 169: Minimum ply thickness for HSFG bolts

Within Steelwork Design Guide to BS 5950: Part 1: 1990. Volume One, Section Properties

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Member Capacities, (commonly known as the Blue Book), and the Handbook of Structural
Steelwork (commonly known as the Red Book), bearing values are provided for High Strength

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Friction Grip bolts for various plate thicknesses. Values are presented for plate thicknesses as

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low as 5 mm, but designers should note the provisions of BS 4604: Specification for the use
of high strength friction grip bolts in structural steelwork. Metric series. Part 1: 1970 General

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grade, and in particular clause 3.4, as amended in 1972.

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This clause requires that “in any joint using high strength friction grip bolts no outer ply, and
wherever possible no inner ply, shall be less in thickness than half the bolt diameter or 10

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mm whichever is smaller, unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the engineer
that any consequent limitations to the performance of the joint owing, for example to

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crumpling, tearing, buckling or bending of plies, to corrosion between plies or to limited
extensibility of short bolts are adequately catered for.”

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Checking the bearing stress to BS 5950: Part 1 is considered to satisfy this provision of BS
4604 in respect of inner plies, but not outer plies. Bearing values are therefore quoted to
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allow the designer to check the inner ply, since in many cases the inner ply will be less than
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the smaller of 10 mm or half the bolt diameter.

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However, outer plies should still also conform to the restriction in BS 4604 because this
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restriction in thickness is to ensure satisfactory dispersion of the preload at the faying

surface, and to avoid potential problems of excessively short bolts.
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