Hysteretic behavior of prestressed high-strength bolt joint subject to combined flexure and axial forces for prefabricated prestressed spatial structures

A novel prestressed high-strength bolt (PHSB) joint applied in the prefabricated large-span ridge tube cable dome with annular struts (PLRTCDAS) was proposed. Firstly, the hysteretic behavior of the PHSB joint under combinations of bending moment and axial compression was studied by experiments. Four parameters of the PHSB joint, including the disc thickness, perforated cross plate thickness, perforated angle steel thickness, and outer sleeve height, were considered in the test. The effects of these parameters on the hysteretic curves, skeleton curves, bearing capacity, failure modes, energy dissipation behavior, and ductility were analyzed and discussed in detail. Secondly, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model of the PHSB joint considering geometric, material, and interaction nonlinearities was established by ABAQUS. The accuracy of FE model was verified by comparing the test and numerical results. Finally, the hysteretic behavior of the PSHB joint under different combinations of axial forces and bending moments was investigated by the proposed FE model. The research indicates that the PHSB joint exhibits perfect energy dissipation capacity and higher ductility. Reducing the perforated angle steel thickness or increasing the outer sleeve height can improve the hysteretic behavior of the PHSB joint without significantly reducing its bearing capacity. The verified FE model is an effective method to simulate PHSB joint hysteretic behavior.