Assessment of titanium alloy bolts for structural applications

Dongxu Li, Brian Uy, Jia Wang and Yuchen Song

Abstract

This paper explored the viability of utilising titanium alloy bolts in the construction industry through an experimental programme, where a total of sixty-six titanium alloy (Ti/6Al/4V) bolts were tested under axial tension, pure shear and combined tension and shear. In addition, a series of Charpy V-notch specimens machined from titanium alloy bolts, conventional high-strength steel bolts, austenitic and duplex stainless steel bolts were tested for impact toughness comparisons. The obtained experimental results demonstrated that the axial tensile and pure shear capacities of titanium alloy bolts can be reasonably estimated by the current design standards for steel structures (Eurocode 3, AS 4100 and AISC 360). However, under the combined tension and shear loading conditions, significant underestimation by Eurocode 3 and unsafe predictions through AS 4100 and AISC 360 indicate that proper modifications are necessary to facilitate the safe and economic use of titanium alloy bolts. In addition, numerical models were developed to calibrate the fracture parameters of the tested titanium alloy bolts. Furthermore, a design-based selection process of titanium alloy bolts in the structural applications was proposed, in which the ultimate strength, ductility performance and corrosion resistance (including galvanic corrosion) of titanium alloy bolts was mainly considered.

Key Words

design method; galvanic corrosion; impact toughness; numerical model; titanium alloy bolt; ultimate strength

Address

Dongxu Li:School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Brian Uy:School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Jia Wang:School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Yuchen Song:School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

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