Load-bearing behaviour of high-strength bolts in combined tension and shear

Bolts were tested under different combinations of tension and shear in order to estimate how bolts generally behave in combined tension and shear, what influence the strength grade has and to be able to assess the validity of the old and new standard rules. To assure results that not only represent the behaviour of round steel, but of a bolt as such, a test setup was developed that ensured a construction situation as realistic as possible. The results of these tests are summarized in this paper.