Effect of geometric parameters on the behavior of bolted GFRP pultruded plates

This paper presents the effect of geometric parameters on the behavior of bolted glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) pultruded plates for civil engineering applications. After a literature review, results of an experimental analysis investigating the behavior of GFRP-to-steel single-lap bolted connections are presented. Then, a finite element analysis validated by experimental data is used to evaluate the effects of the end-distance, side-distance, pitch, and plate properties on the strength and failure mode of the connection. A critical examination of geometric recommendations proposed in design references is presented. Bearing failure caused by contact of the bolt on the GFRP plate is usually defined as the preferred failure mode. With highly orthotropic plate, this type of failure was found to be less likely to occur when loading is applied in the pultruded direction. The investigation showed that the minimum end-distance and pitch-distance recommended by design references usually produce a connection with the maximum capacity. However, it was found that the minimum side-distance recommended by these references does not necessarily lead to the maximum capacity for one bolt and for two bolt in a column connections.