Strengthening of bolted shear joints in industrialized ferrocement construction

Abstract

This paper highlights results of some experimental work that deals with strengthening of bolted shear joints in thin-walled ferrocement structure where steel wires, bent into U-shape are considered as simple inserts around the bolt hole. The parameters investigated include the number of layers of wire mesh, edge distance of bolt hole, size and location of the inserts. Test results have shown that for small edge distance, failure occurred either in cleavage or shearing mode, and the strength of the joint increased with an increase in the edge distance. This continued up to an upper limit set by either tension or bearing failure. The experimental study further revealed that for a given edge distance the strength of a joint can significantly be enhanced by using U-inserts. The equations developed for predicting joint strength in ferrocement composites can also be modified to include the effects of the inserts with a good level of accuracy.