Strength of Double-Row Bolted-Web Connections

Full-scale testing of double-row bolted-web connections was performed on coped and uncoped specimens. Parameters considered were the end and edge distance, bolt arrangement, and the type of hole (standard or slotted). All of the specimens failed in a block shear mode with factors of safety lower than predicted by the 1978 American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) specification. An elastic finite element model was used to study the experimental behavior and develop a modified block shear failure model which shows good agreement with the test results. The finite element analysis also indicated the compression bending stresses at the cope to be twice that predicted by normal beam theory.