Effects of elevated temperatures on cold-formed stainless steel double shear bolted connections

A total of 35 cold-formed stainless steel double shear bolted connection specimens were tested using transient state test method. The specimens of bolted connections were fabricated by three different grades of stainless steel, namely, EN 1.4301 (AISI 304), EN 1.4571 (AISI 316Ti having small amount of titanium) and EN 1.4162 (AISI S32101). The connection tests were conducted at three different load levels of 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 of the failure load at room temperature. The stainless steel grade EN 1.4571 generally performed better than the other two stainless steel grades as higher values of critical temperatures were obtained. Two failure modes, namely the bearing and net section tension failures, were observed in the transient state tests.