Keywords: glass pultruded profiles, pin bearing, bolted connections, multiple row joints, double lap joints, numerical simulations.

The use of light-truss pultruded structures with bolted connections is nowadays a technique for the enhancement or a partial replacement of existing floors or roofs, because the light weight of the profiles enables them to be easily moved in the field and the limited increase in mass is favourable with respect to the building seismic behaviour. In common design practice, a simplified load distribution among the bolts in multi-row joints is used for the dimensioning, but no distinctions on the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the jointed elements is considered.

In this paper the results of a numerical investigation on the behaviour of a double lap joint composed of a central rigid steel plate placed between two side glass pultruded profiles and subjected to tensile axial forces are presented and discussed. As the resistance of the multiple bolted connection is influenced by the local pin bearing deformation, a preliminary experimental programme was conducted so as to investigate the local bearing deformation in the vicinity of the fastener.

So, 8 and 10 mm thick pultruded elements, jointed with 12 and 16 mm diameter steel bolts, respectively, are considered for the numerical simulations. Different values of the bolt spacing were investigated. The results of nonlinear static analysis permitted to evaluate the actual distribution of the fastener shear load as well as the resistance and the type of collapse of the connection are presented.

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