In many cases in recent years, a technique known as steel frame construction has proved to be the best possible choice. From relatively squat industrial buildings to towering skyscrapers, appropriately assembled steel beams and pillars can provide highly functional support. Every such construction project and resulting building also relies heavily on special fasteners known as tension control bolts.
A Way of Fastening Steel That Scales to Hundreds of Feet in Height
In many less demanding applications where steel pieces are to be fastened together, rivets or driven bolts are employed. These fairly primitive fasteners can suffice when assembling small structures, containers, or even seagoing vessels, but they will not offer the performance needed as the scales grow much larger.
So-called "tc bolts" are used in virtually all steel frame construction projects today. Instead of being designed to be installed and tightened directly, they are meant to be fastened in functionally distinct, separate stages. The bolt will first be put into place, after which a suitably shaped implement will be used to hold an integrated spline thereafter.
A nut can then be tightened to make the connection permanent, with the spline preventing rotation or movement that would interfere with the setting of an appropriate level of tension. When that goal is achieved, the ridge that kept the bolt in place shears off automatically, allowing for a fast yet accurate and repeatable installation process.
A Wide Variety of Parts, With Some Ready for Any Conceivable Project
The fairly advanced nature of tension control bolts makes them highly suitable, in general, for even the most demanding of steel frame construction projects. At the same time, the number of different options and parts available also ensures that an appropriate selection can be made given virtually any set of needs and goals.
Various organizations like the ASTM also lay down and enforce standards that help make the process easier. With well defined tolerances, material choices, dimensions, and other variables being associated with particular standards, choosing the most appropriate fastener becomes a lot easier. Instead of needing to look into every conceivable source of variation, for instance, it will commonly be possible to simply specify that a project should make use of A325 tension control bolts or another standardized part, instead.
