Predicting the Shear Strength of Mechanical Clinching in Cold-Formed Steel Structures

Abstract

Mechanical clinching was developed originally for the automotive industry. It is now starting to be used in the construction industry in the fabrication of cold-formed steel building systems. Effective, efficient, and reliable structural connections can be formed using the technique. The strength of mechanical clinching is affected by a number of factors including steel thickness and strength, direction of applied load, and the geometric configuration of the clinching tools. This paper summarizes the results of a large number of tests on mechanical clinching that formed part of a research program into the application of clinching in cold-formed steel structures. Different modes of failure occur in the two orthogonal directions of applied shear. Theoretical expressions are derived to predict the strength of mechanical clinching based on the two different failure modes. Good agreement with the experimental results is obtained. It is also shown that the strength of mechanical clinches subjected to shear applied at intermediate angles can be predicted reliably by linear interpolation between the strengths in each of the two orthogonal directions.