Bearing failure in bolted sleeve connections with circular hollow sections under compression

Abstract This article analyzes sleeve connections between circular hollow sections. This type of connection is composed of two tubes connected by bolts to an inner tube with a smaller diameter, and explores the efficiency, aesthetics and resistance of hollow sections subjected to tension and compression. In previous researches, sleeve connections with aligned and crossed bolt dispositions and under axial tension were studied. Herein, the behavior of sleeve connections with aligned bolts and under compression was analyzed. A model to represent the connection using the finite element method was developed, which allowed a numerical analysis with geometric property variations. In the numerical/parametric results, bearing failure was observed in all cases, either in the outer or inner tube. Limiting the number of bolts to 6 and considering that connections have a lower outer thickness than the inner tube, a formulation was proposed to determine the ultimate bearing capacity of sleeve connections under compression and with bearing failure.