Lap shear tests of bolted and screwed ferritic stainless steel connections

The development of design guidance for stainless steel structures requires more tests on ferritic grade connections. This paper deals with a series of lap shear tests which have been carried out on various configurations of bolted and screwed connections. The tests demonstrate net section failure, bearing failure and block tearing failure. The material is a ferritic stainless steel of grade 1.4509 (AISI 441) with a thickness of 0.5–4.5 mm. The results are utilized in developing design guidance in accordance with Eurocodes.