Introduction
Advantages
 The erection of the structure
can be speeded up.
 Less skilled persons are
required.
 The overall cost of bolted
construction is cheaper than
that of riveted construction
because of reduced labour
and equipment costs and the
smaller number of bolts
required for resisting the same
load.
Disadvantages
 Cost of material is high,
about double that of
rivets.
 The tensile strength of the
bolt is reduced because of
area reduction at the root
of the thread and also due
to stress concentration.
 Normally, these are of a
loose fit excepting turned
bolts and hence their
strength is reduced.
 When subjected to
vibrations or shocks, bolts
may get loose.
 There are several types of bolts used to connect structural
members. Some of them are listed as follows:
 Unfinished bolts or black bolts or C grade bolts (IS 1363 :
2002)
 Turned bolts
 Precision bolts or A grade bolts (IS 1364 : 2002)

 Semi-precision bolts or B grade bolts (IS 1364 : 2002)

 Ribbed bolts
 High strength bolts (IS 3757 : 1985 and IS 4000 : 1992)
 Black bolts are also referred to as ordinary, unfinished, rough,
or common bolts.
 They are the least expensive bolts.
 However, they may not produce the least expensive connection
since the connection may require a large number of such bolts.
 They are primarily used in light structures under static loads
such as small trusses, purlins, bracings, and platforms.
 They are also used as temporary fasteners during erection
where HSFG bolts or welding are used as permanent fasteners.
 They are not recommended for connections subjected to
impact, fatigue, or dynamic loads.
 These bolts are made from mild steel rods with a square or
hexagonal head and nuts
 The bolts are available from 5 to 36 mm in diameter and are
designated as M5 to M36.
 Most common ones are M16, M20, M24 to M30
 The bolts of property class 3.6 to 12.9 are available, of which
most commonly used bolts are of property class 4.6 and 8.8;
bolts of property class is more common.
 Here, the number before decimal indicates 1/100th of the
nominal ultimate tensile strength and the number after
decimal indicates the ratio of yield stress to ultimate stress,
expressed as a percentage.
 Thus, the ultimate tensile strength of class 4.6 bolt is 400
N/mm2 and the yield strength is 240 N/mm2 (0.6 times 400).
 For ordinary bolted joints, the force is transferred through the
interlocking and bearing of bolts and the joint is called
bearing-type joint.
 The high-strength bolts are made from bars of medium carbon heat
treated steel and from alloy steel.
 Their high strength is achieved through quenching and tempering
processes or by alloying steel.
 These bolts may be tightened until they have very high tensile
stresses, two or more times that of ordinary bolts, so that the
connected parts are clamped tightly together between the bolts and
nut heads; this permits loads to be transferred primarily by friction
and not by shear.
 This friction is developed by applying a load normal to the joint by
tightening these bolts to proof load. That is why these bolts are also
known as friction-type bolts.
 The joint using high-strength friction grip bolts is called non-slip
connection or slip-critical connection or friction-type connection.
 The high strength bolts are available in sizes from 16 to
36 mm
 Designated as M16, M20, M24 and M30.
 These bolts are identified by the property class
identification symbol such as 8S, 8.8S, 10S or 10.9S
embossed on the head of the bolt. Here, S stands for
high strength.
 Commonly used bolts are of 8.8S and 10.9S property
class.
Shear failure
 Shear failure of the bolt takes place at the bolt shear plane
(interface).
 The bolt may fail in single shear or double shear
 Shear stresses are generated when the plates slip due to applied
forces.
 The maximum factored shear force in the bolt may exceed the
nominal shear capacity of the bolt.
 The bolt is crushed around half circumference.
 The plate may be strong in bearing and the heaviest stressed plate may
press the bolt shank
 Bearing failure of bolts generally does not occur in practice except when
plates are made of high strength steel and the bolts are of very low grade
steel.
 When an ordinary bolt is subjected to shear forces, the slip takes place and
bolt comes in contact with the plates.
 The plate may get crushed, if the plate material is weaker than the bolt
material
 The bearing problem can be complicated by the presence of a near by bolt
or the proximity of an edge in the direction of the load.
 The bolt spacing and end-distance will influence the bearing strength.
 A possible failure mode resulting from excessive bearing is shear tear-out at
the end of connected member
 Bolts may have been placed at a lesser end-distance than
required causing the plates to shear out which, however, can be
checked by observing the specifications for end-distance.
 This type of failure occurs with shear on one plane and tension
on perpendicular plane leading to fall of hatched portion of the
plate.
 It is distance between the centre of two consecutive
bolt measured along the row of bolt in the direction of
load.
IS 800 Clause
 The tests on the bolted joints reveal that the nominal
bearing strength of bolts is independent of grades of
bolts and the metal in contact with them.
 Neither the bolts nor the metal in contact with the
bolts fail in bearing.
 Tests have also shown that the magnitude of the
bearing stresses do affect the efficiency of the
connected parts
 It is evident that the bearing strength of a bolted
connection is a function of strength of the connected
parts and the arrangement of the bolts rather than
the grades of bolts.