Effect of Bolt Slippage on Ultimate Behavior of Lattice Structures

This paper investigates theoretically the effect of bolt slippage on the deflection and ultimate‐strength responses of lattice structures. For the purpose of this study, two idealized bolt‐slippage models are presented. The effect of bolt slippage was incorporated into the previously developed nonlinear finite element computer program, AK TOWER, by Al‐Bermani and Kitipornchai, in 1992. Two lattice structures are used to study the influence of bolt slippage. Results of this study illustrate that while the slippage of bolts may have some effect on deflection, it does not significantly influence the ultimate strength of lattice structures.