Comparison between Eurocodes and North American and Main International Codes for Design of Bolted Connections in Steel Bridges

Abstract

Bolted joints are broadly used for the connections of structural elements in steel bridges. Rules for design of bolted connections are currently under discussion in Europe for improving Part 1-8 of Eurocode 3, which deals with the sizing and structural design of joints. In this work, a wide comparison is made between the Eurocode and the codes of Italy, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan. General descriptions of the design criteria for typical connections in bridges related to materials, geometrical limitations, slip, shear, and bearing resistance are presented. An illustrative example to compare the various code provisions is given to quantitatively show their performance for a practical case.