Effect of Bolt Tightness on the Behavior of Composite Joints

2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayed A. Nassar ◽  
Vinayshankar L. Virupaksha ◽  
Saravanan Ganeshmurthy

This study provides an experimental and analytical investigation of the behavior of a double bolted single lap shear composite joint. Various scenarios of bolt tightness are considered for composite-to-composite and composite-to-aluminum bolted joints. Progressive damage analysis is provided for the composite coupons in two regions; namely, the surface under bolt heads and near the contact with the shank of the bolt; the damage analysis is performed using an optical microscope. Four tightening configurations are used in the testing of each double bolted joint. These configurations permit each of the two bolts to be either tight or loose. The analytical part of the study utilizes a 3-D finite element model that simulates the bolt tightness and the multilayered composite coupons. The experimental and finite element results are correlated.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rashique Iftekhar Rousseau ◽  
Abdel-Hakim Bouzid ◽  
Zijian Zhao

Abstract The axial stiffnesses of the bolt and clamped members of bolted joints are of great importance when considering their integrity and capacity to withstand external loads and resist relaxation due to creep. There are many techniques to calculate the stiffnesses of the joint elements using finite element (FE) modeling, but most of them are based on the displacement of nodes that are selected arbitrarily; therefore, leading to inaccurate values of joint stiffness. This work suggests a new method to estimate the stiffnesses of the bolt and clamped members using FE analysis and compares the results with the FE methods developed earlier and also with the existing analytical models. A new methodology including an axisymmetric finite element model of the bolted joint is proposed in which the bolts of different sizes ranging from M6 to M36 are considered for the analysis to generalize the proposed approach. The equivalent bolt length that includes the contribution of the thickness of the bolt head and the bolt nominal diameter to the bolt stiffness is carefully investigated. An equivalent bolt length that accounts for the flexibility of the bolt head is proposed in the calculation of the bolt stiffness and a new technique to accurately determine the stiffness of clamped members are detailed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 118-120 ◽  
pp. 147-150
Author(s):  
Da Zhao Yu ◽  
Yue Liang Chen ◽  
Yong Gao ◽  
Wen Lin Liu ◽  
Zhong Hu Jia

Three-dimensional finite element model of a cracked bolted joint has been developed in the non-linear finite element code MSC.Marc and attempts were made to validate it by comparing results with those of experiments and other finite element. Issues in modeling the contact between the joint parts, which affect the accuracy and efficiency of the model, were presented. Experimental measurements of load transfer were compared with results from finite element analysis. The results show that three-dimensional finite element model of cracked bolted joint can produce results in close agreement with experiment. Three-dimensional effects such as bolt titling, seconding and through-thickness variations in stress and strain are well represented by such models. Three-dimensional finite element analysis was also used to study the effects of hole mod and crack on the load transfer behaviour of single lap bolted joints. The results show that hole mode has big effect on load transfer of cracked bolted joint. In the whole progress of crack growth, the load transfer through bolt 1 decrease, and almost all of the load duduction of bolt 1 transfer into blot 2 rather than into bolt 3.


2013 ◽  
Vol 652-654 ◽  
pp. 1509-1513
Author(s):  
Tao Huang ◽  
Zhe Su

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the bearing stress of single-lap double bolted composite joints. The bearing stress of a group of specimen was presented and the relationship between the stress and strain was obtained. The experimental results show that the damage of the bolted joints was a progressive process; and the ultimate bearing stress depends not only on the laminates’ strength but also on the bolt strength. A finite element model was created based on the bolted joint specimen to simulate the loading – displacement response. The numerical results verified the experiment results qualitatively.


2010 ◽  
Vol 97-101 ◽  
pp. 3924-3927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Da Zhao Yu ◽  
Yue Liang Chen ◽  
Zhong Hu Jia ◽  
Yong Gao ◽  
Wen Lin Liu

Three-dimensional finite element model of a bolted joint has been developed in the non-linear finite element code MSC.Marc and attempts were made to validate it by comparing results with those of experiments and other finite element. Issues in modeling the contact between the joint parts, which affect the accuracy and efficiency of the model, were presented. Experimental measurements of surface strains and load transfer ratio(LTR) were compared with results from finite element analysis. The results show that three-dimensional finite element model of bolted joint can produce results in close agreement with experiment. Three-dimensional effects such as bolt titling, seconding and through-thickness variations in stress and strain are well represented by such models. Three-dimensional finite element analysis was also used to study the effects of different parameters on the mechanical behaviour of single lap bolted joints. The results show that straight hole, small bolt diameter, and big hole pitch are selected first for bolted joint if other conditions allowed, and effect of bolt material on LTR of joint is small for small load. Interference and pre-stress should be strictly controlled for bolted joints in order to attain the best fatigue capability of lap joint.


2010 ◽  
Vol 114 (1155) ◽  
pp. 315-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.H. Oskouei ◽  
M. Keikhosravy ◽  
C. Soutis

Abstract Accurate stress and strain analysis in bolted joints is of considerable interest in order to design more efficient and safer aerospace structural elements. In this paper, a finite element modelling of aluminium alloy 7075-T6 bolted plates, which are extensively used in aircraft structures, is discussed. The ANSYS Finite Element (FE) package was used for modelling the joint and estimating the stresses and strains created in the joint due to initial clamping forces and subsequent longitudinal tensile loadings. A double-lap bolted joint with a single bolt and nut was considered in the study. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element model of the joint was generated, and then subjected to three different simulated clamping forces followed by different levels of longitudinal tensile load. 3D surface-to-surface contact elements were employed to model the contact between the various components of the bolted joint. Friction effects were considered in the numerical analysis; and moreover, the clearance between the bolt and the plates was simulated in the model. FE results revealed beneficial compressive stresses near the hole edge as a result of applying the clamping. It was found that a higher clamping force can significantly decrease the magnitude of the resultant tensile stress at the hole edge and also bearing stress in the joint when subjected to the longitudinal tensile load.


2014 ◽  
Vol 660 ◽  
pp. 152-156
Author(s):  
Hilton Ahmad

A 3-D FEA has been carried out to determine the stress distribution in bolted double-lap bolted joints using ABAQUS CAE and compared with available closed-form equations. As friction load in bolted joint is transferred through-the-thickness, the 3-D finite element model gave more reliable stress distribution than simplistic 2-D closed form (incorporated with clamp-up). Similar trend in stress distribution were found for closed-form and FEA approaches.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 7141-7151 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Omar ◽  
M. N. Abdul Rani ◽  
M. A. Yunus

Efficient and accurate finite element (FE) modelling of bolted joints is essential for increasing confidence in the investigation of structural vibrations. However, modelling of bolted joints for the investigation is often found to be very challenging. This paper proposes an appropriate FE representation of bolted joints for the prediction of the dynamic behaviour of a bolted joint structure. Two different FE models of the bolted joint structure with two different FE element connectors, which are CBEAM and CBUSH, representing the bolted joints are developed. Modal updating is used to correlate the two FE models with the experimental model. The dynamic behaviour of the two FE models is compared with experimental modal analysis to evaluate and determine the most appropriate FE model of the bolted joint structure. The comparison reveals that the CBUSH element connectors based FE model has a greater capability in representing the bolted joints with 86 percent accuracy and greater efficiency in updating the model parameters. The proposed modelling technique will be useful in the modelling of a complex structure with a large number of bolted joints.


1990 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. R. Grosse ◽  
L. D. Mitchell

A critical assessment of the current design theory for bolted joints which is based on a linear, one-dimensional stiffness analysis is presented. A detailed nonlinear finite element analysis of a bolted joint conforming to ANSI standards was performed. The finite element results revealed that the joint stiffness is highly dependent on the magnitude of the applied load. The joint stiffness changes continuously from extremely high for small applied loads to the bolt stiffness during large applied loads, contrary to the constant joint stiffness of the linear theory. The linear theory is shown to be inadequate in characterizing the joint stiffness. The significance of the results in terms of the failure of bolted joints is discussed. A number of sensitivity studies were carried out to assess the effect of various parameters on the axial joint stiffness. The results revealed that bending and rotation of the joint members, interfacial friction, and the bolt/nut threading significantly influence the axial stiffness characteristics of the bolted joint. The two-dimensional, axisymmetric finite element model includes bilinear gap elements to model the interfaces. Special orthotropic elements were used to model the bolt/nut thread interaction. A free-body-diagram approach was taken by applying loads to the outer diameter of the joint model which correspond to internal, uniformly distributed line-shear and line-moment loads in the joint. A number of convergence studies were performed to validate the solution.


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