Design of Tension Members

Design of Tension Members
Introduction
Members that carry pure tension, generally referred to as ties, are relatively simple to
design. In reality, the tension forces are frequently accompanied by moments and the
member must be designed for the combined effects.
Figure 3.6 illustrates various examples of structures with some members that are commonly
assumed to be loaded only in tension. Figure 3.7 shows typical cross sections of tension
members. Simple or built-up rolled sections are commonly used in trusses, lattice girders and
as bracing members. Cables, flats or bars are used in bracing systems.
Typically, the governing design situation for members subject to tension corresponds to the
location of the joints. In these cross sections, either because of bolting, the net area of the
cross section must be taken into account.
where, A is the gross area of the section;

np is the number of non-staggered holes in any cross section perpendicular to the
member axis;
n is the number of holes extending in any diagonal or zig-zag line progressively
across the member or part of the member, see Figure 3.1;
t is the thickness;
do is the hole diameter;
s is the staggered pitch, the spacing of the centers of two consecutive holes in the
chain measured parallel to the member axis;
p is the spacing of the centers of the same two holes measured perpendicular to the
member axis.
The summation in expression above represents the number of segments between staggered
holes.
In the case of angles, or other member with holes in more than one plane, the spacing p should
be measured along the mid-plane of the legs, as illustrated in Figure 3.2.
In addition, it is noted that stress concentrations occur in the neighbourhood of holes or

discontinuities, as shown in Figure 3.8.
Bolted or welded connections often induce second-order moments because of small

eccentricities, as shown in Figure 3.9. These second-order effects should be taken into
account. Alternatively, careful detailing should be specified to eliminate these eccentricities,
as illustrated in Figure 3.10.
Design for tensile force
A member exclusively subject to a tension force is under a uniaxial stress state. According
to clause 6.2.3(1), the design value of the tension force NEd at each cross section, including
cross sections in the vicinity of the connections, should satisfy:
where Nt,Rd is the design tension resistance.
For sections with holes the design tension resistance Nt,Rd should be taken as the smallest of:
1- Design plastic resistance of the gross cross section,
where A is the gross cross section area, fy is the yield strength of steel and γM0 is the
partial safety factor.
2- Design ultimate resistance of the net cross section at holes for fasteners,
where Anet is the net cross section area, fu is the ultimate strength of steel and γM2 is
the partial safety factor.
 When the member is under cyclic loading, the design plastic resistance Npl,Rd
should be less than the design ultimate resistance of the net section at fasteners
holes Nu,Rd.
 In the case of members with Category C preloaded bolted connections loaded in

shear, the design tension resistance Nt,Rd at the cross section with holes for
fasteners should be taken as Nnet,Rd (clause 6.2.3(4)):
 For angles connected by one leg and other unsymmetrically connected members
in tension (such as T sections or channel sections), the eccentricity in joints and
the effects of the spacing and edge distances of the bolts should be taken into
account in determining the design resistance (clause 3.10.3(1) of EC3-1-8).
 According to clause 3.10.3(2) of EC3-1-8, a single angle in tension connected

by a single row of bolts, see Figure 3.11, may be treated as concentrically loaded
over an effective net section for which the design ultimate resistance should be
determined as follows:
 The net area, Anet, is calculated according to sub-section 3.1.2.2 (clause
6.2.2); in angles of unequal legs, connected by the smaller leg, Anet should
be taken as equal to the net section area of an equivalent equal leg angle of
leg size equal to that of the smaller leg.
 Parameters 2 and 3 are reduction factors which are defined depending on

the distance between holes (pitch p1), according to Table 3.1; for values
of 2.5d0 < p1 < 5d0, these parameters can be determined by linear
interpolation.
It is reminded that no matter what value is given by equations (3.10) to
(3.12), the resistance is limited by equation (3.6).
 Members that comprise angles connected by welding only in one leg can be treated
as being concentrically loaded. Resistance is determined using equation (3.6), but
based on an effective cross section area. The area of the effective cross section,
according to clause 4.13 of EC3-1-8, must be evaluated as follows:
1. for angles of equal legs or unequal legs that are connected by the larger leg,
the area of the effective section may be considered as equal to the gross area;
2. for angles of unequal legs, connected by the smaller leg, the area of the
effective section should be taken as equal to the gross area of an equivalent
angle, with legs that are equal to the smaller of the legs.
3. A common detail is an angle connected by one leg using one or more rows
of bolts as shown below:
The European connections committee, ECCS TC10, has considered this

detail and suggested that the following expression may be used for
calculating the design resistance of the section:
Example 3.1: Calculate the net area Anet of the bolted section of the plate represented in
Figure 3.12. Assume a plate with thickness t and the remaining dimensions (in mm), as
indicated in Figure 3.12.
Example 3.2: Consider the chord AB of the steel truss, indicated in Figure 3.13,
assuming it is submitted to a design tensile axial force of NEd = 220 kN. The cross
section consists of two angles of equal legs, in steel grade S 235. Design chord AB
assuming two distinct possibilities for the connections:
a) welded connections;
b) bolted connections.
(a) Welded Connection

The chord is made up by two angles of equal legs, but the connection is made only in
one leg of the angle. Thus, according to clause 4.13 of EC3-1-8, the effective area can
be considered equal to the gross area. Therefore, the following conditions must be
satisfied:
where γM0 =1.0, f y = 235 MPa and A is the gross area of the section. Considering the
design axial force, NEd = 220 kN, then:
From a table of commercial profiles, a solution with two angles 50x50x5mm, with a total
area of 2×4.8 = 9.6cm2, satisfies the above safety requirement.
(b) Bolted Connection

In this case, the chord, made up by angles of equal legs, is connected by 2 bolts only in
one leg. According to clause 3.10.3 of EC3-1-8, the following design conditions must be
ensured:
where, γM0 = 1.0, γM2 = 1.25, fy = 235 MPa, fu = 360 MPa, A is the gross area of the cross
section, Anet is the net area of the bolted section, and is a factor obtained from Table 3.1
(or Table 3.8 of EC3-1-8). A first check based on the plastic design of the gross cross
section leads to:
Hence, the section obtained in the previous design, two angles 50x50x5 mm (A = 9.6
cm2), also satisfies this safety requirement.
The second condition (equation (3.11), reproduced above) requires the evaluation of the
net area Anet, (illustrated in Figure 3.14) and the factor 2, both evaluated according to
clause 3.10.3 of EC3-1-8.
For do  18 mm , 2.5do  45 mm and 5do  90 mm .
As p1  100 mm  90mm, then 2 = 0.70.
The net area of the bolted section made up of two angles is given by:
Anet  A  2 t do  9.6  2  0.5  1.8  7.8cm2
Thus, the design ultimate resistance is given by:
However, NEd  220kN  Nu,Rd  157.2 kN ; therefore, the chosen cross section is not
appropriate. By adopting a cross section with enhanced resistance, for example, two
angles 60x60x6 mm (A = 13.82 cm2 and Anet =11.66 cm2), then:
pl,Rd 13.82104  235103/1.0  324.8kN  NEd  220 kN ;
As pl,Rd 324.8 kN  Nu,Rd  235.1 kN , failure is non-ductile; however, since this is not
a design condition, the section defined by two angles 60x60x6 mm can be accepted.

Design of Tension Members

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Design of Tension Members

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Design of Tension Members

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Design of Tension Members

where, A is the gross area of the section;

In addition, it is noted that stress concentrations occur in the neighbourhood of holes or

Bolted or welded connections often induce second-order moments because of small

where Nt,Rd is the design tension resistance.

1- Design plastic resistance of the gross cross section,

 In the case of members with Category C preloaded bolted connections loaded in

 According to clause 3.10.3(2) of EC3-1-8, a single angle in tension connected

 Parameters 2 and 3 are reduction factors which are defined depending on

The European connections committee, ECCS TC10, has considered this

(a) Welded Connection

(b) Bolted Connection

As p1  100 mm  90mm, then 2 = 0.70.

Anet  A  2 t do  9.6  2  0.5  1.8  7.8cm2

Thus, the design ultimate resistance is given by:

pl,Rd 13.82104  235103/1.0  324.8kN  NEd  220 kN ;

You might also like