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Bolted connections are willingly used in steel structures because of their easiness of fabrication and assembly, but often they are the weakest component in the construction. In case of tensile lap connections, fracture of net cross section usually determines a joint capacity. Additionally, possible eccentricities can affect the distribution of stresses in the cross section and hence its load capacity. Analysis of fracture is a completely different issue compared to well-known and established problems of stability or plastic resistance. Paper relates to steel angle tension members connected by one bolt. It starts from the description of experimental investigations which results were used for hierarchical validation of computational models. Choice between two types of material models (elastic-plastic and Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman) and building of FE models, representing different degrees of complexity, were described. Paper ends with parametric study taking into account influence of the edge distance from the centre of a fastener hole to the adjacent edge of angle. The paper’s aim is to verify and present the methodology for fracture prediction in steel angle tension members, which can be next extended for bolted joints with larger number of bolts and different geometrical configurations.

The paper presents results of investigation carried out on structure of the cultural center building in Dębica in Poland. Technical condition of mentioned building after 40 years of exploitation did not allow for its further use. In order to check the reliability of the structure, the authorities of the city commissioned an expertise. This study included basic structure measurements, loads statement and static analysis as well as check of limit states. As a result of the conducted analyses, it was found that the roof structure made of steel girder with web openings did not comply with resistant conditions. The paper presents brief description of building structure, numerical analyses and proposals of strengthening the roof girder.