FEM Contact Stress Analysis at the Bearing Surfaces in Bolted Joints With Washer Under Tensile Loadings

Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Yuya Omiya ◽  
Kengo Kuwaki

High strength bolts with washers are utilized widely for high reliability. The usage of the high strength bolts enables higher bolt preload, thus the contact stress at the bearing surfaces increase. When a bolted joint is under external axial load W, the axial bolt force increases by Ft and the contact stress increases at the bearing surface. This may cause the plastic deformation and a decrease in the axial bolt force. Consequently, it is important to determine the initial axial bolt force (bolt preload) considering external load. In this paper, The characteristics of hollow cylindrical bolted joints with plain washers under external tensile loadings are analyzed using elasto-plastic FEM such as the contact stress distributions, plastic displacement (permanent set) at the bearing surfaces and the load factor Φ = (Ft/W). The effect of thickness of the plain washers on the contact stress distributions and the plastic displacements are clarified. It is found that the effect of the plain washer specified in JIS B 1256 is small on the contact stress distributions and the plastic displacements. Also, the effect of the external load on the changes in the contact stress distributions and the plastic displacements at the bearing surfaces using the values of load factor is observed to be small. The prediction for the reduction in axial bolt force was compared with the experiment. As a result, it was found that a higher bolt preload shows a small reduction in axial bolt force.

Author(s):  
Yukio Morozumi ◽  
Masahiko Okumura ◽  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Kengo Kuwaki

High strength bolts are utilized widely for high reliability and to reduce the weight of the bolted joints. The usage of the high strength bolts may increase the contact stress at the bearing surfaces. When a bolted joint is under external axial load W, the axial bolt force increases by Ft and the contact stress increases at the bearing surface. This may cause the plastic deformation and a decrease in the axial bolt force. Consequently, it is important to determine the initial axial bolt force (bolt preload) considering external load. In this paper, (load factor) Φ = (Ft/W) is investigated by axi-symmetrical theory of elasticity, FEM analysis and experiments. The results obtained from these methods showed in a fairly good agreement. Then the contact stress distributions and the plastic displacement distributions under external loads were studied for three different initial axial forces by elasto-plastic FEM analyses. The prediction for the reduction in axial bolt force, which is obtained by multiplying the setting factor by the mean plastic displacement, was compared with the experiment. As a result, it was found that a higher bolt preload shows a small reduction in axial bolt force.


Author(s):  
Yuya Omiya ◽  
Toshiyuki Sawa

In designing bolted joints, it is necessary to know the contact stress distributions in bolted joints. Recently, high strength bolts have been used with a higher bolt preload. As the results, the permanent set occurs sometimes at the bearing surfaces of clamped parts in the bolted joint. In addition, when external loads such as tensile loads, transverse loads and bending moments are applied to the bolted joint, the permanent set can be extended at the bearing surfaces. As the permanent set increases, the reduction in the bolt preload increases. Thus, it is important to estimate the reduction in the bolt preload from the reliability stand point. However, no study on the permanent set at the bearing surface under the external loading taking into account the bending moment has been carried out. In this study, the stress distribution and the extension of the permanent set at the bearing surface of the T-flange bolted joint under the external tensile loading are examined using Finite Element Method (FEM), where two T-flanges are clamped with a hexagon bolt and a nut. Using the obtained results, an increment in the axial bolt force and the reduction in the bolt preload are estimated. For verification of the FEM stress analysis, the load factor of hexagon bolt was measured. The FEM results of the load factor (the ratio of the increment in the axial bolt force to the tensile load) and the axial bolt force are in a fairly good agreement with the experimental results.


Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Kengo Kuwaki ◽  
Yukio Morozumi ◽  
Masahiko Okumura

In designing bolted joints, it is necessary to know the stress distributions in bolted joints. Recently, high strength bolts have been used with a higher bolt preload. As the results, the permanent set occurs sometimes at the bearing surfaces of clamped parts in a bolted joint. In addition, when an external load is applied to the bolted joint, the permanent set can be extended at the bearing surfaces. As the permanent set increases, the reduction in the bolt preload increases. Thus, it is important to estimate the reduction in the bolt preload from the reliability stand point. However, no study on the permanent set at the bearing surface under the external loading has been carried out. In this study, the stress distribution and the extension of the permanent set at the bearing surface of the bolted joint under the external tensile loading are examined using finite element Method (FEM), where two hollow cylinders are clamped with a hexagon bolt and a nut. The spring constants for the hexagon bolt and the clamped parts are analyzed using an axi-symmetrical theory of elasticity. Using the obtained results, an increment in the axial bolt force and the reduction in the bolt preload are estimated. For verification of the FEM stress analysis, the load factor of hexagon bolt was measured. The FEM results of the load factor (the increment in the axial bolt force) and the axial bolt force are in a fairly good agreement with the experimental results and the reduction of the axial bolt force. Finally, discussion is made on the appreciate bolt preload.


Author(s):  
Kengo Kuwaki ◽  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Yukio Morozumi ◽  
Masahiko Okumura

In designing bolted joints, it is necessary to know the stress-changes in bolt loads and the stress distribution at the interfaces between clamped parts when external load is applied to the joints. The ratio of variation of bolt load to external load is called the load factor. The load factors have been studied. However, the load factors for bolted joints using bolt with flange have not been studied. In the present paper the mechanical behaviors of bolted joints in which bolt with flange are used such as the load factor and the contact stress distributions at the bearing surfaces are analyzed using Finite Element Method calculations in the case where the clamped parts are two hollow cylinders. The effects of factor such as flange slope angle on the value of the load factor, the contact stress distribution and permanent set at the bearing surfaces are examined. Variation of permanent set at the bearing surface when the external load is applied has not studied. In the experiments, to examine the load factor for the joints using a bolt/nut with flange, the variations of bolt load under the external loading were measured. The calculated results of the load factor show a fairy good agreement with the measured results. In addition, engineering formula for calculating the spring constant of bolt and nut with flanges are proposed.


Author(s):  
Atsushi Shirakawa ◽  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Tomohiro Naruse

The higher bolt preload is better for increasing the integrity of bolted joints. However, the bearing surface could be permanently deformed with too much high preload and the bolt preload decreases with permanent deformation. Thus, an upper limit of bolt preload per contact area at the bearing surfaces, which is called as the critical contact stress, must be examined for various materials of clamped parts. In the previous research, the critical contact stresses were obtained by compressing a cylindrical bar. However, the contact stress distribution of compressing a cylindrical bar is much different to that of an actual bolted joint. In addition, a lot of previous researches used the stress-strain curves under tensile loadings for analyzing the contact stress distributions at the bearing surfaces. In this study, the Finite Element Method is used for contact stress analysis at the bearing surfaces in clamped bolted joints under external loading. Various materials for clamped part are chosen such as steel, aluminum alloy, cast iron and stainless steel. Firstly, the stress-strain curves for the above materials were measured under compressive loadings. The differences in the stress-strain curves under tensile and compressive loadings are evaluated with the above materials. Next, using actual bolts, the displacements at the bearing surfaces in cylindrical clamped parts consisting of the above materials were measured. Finally, elasto-plastic FEM contact stress analyses are carried out for analyzing the plastic displacements at the bearing surfaces under compressive loadings. The mean displacement at the bearing surfaces are compared with those obtained from the experiments for each material. The FEM results of the relationship between the contact stress and the plastic displacement at the bearing surface are in a fairy good agreement with the experimental results for each clamped material. In addition, the critical contact stress at the bearing surface is discussed for each material. Two proposals for the critical contact stress at the bearing surface are described and compared with the critical contact stress of VDI2230.


Author(s):  
Yuya Omiya ◽  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Yoshio Takagi

In the present paper, the gasket stress distributions, hub stress and a variation in axial bolt force in bolted gasketed pipe flange connections under internal pressure are analyzed using elasto-plastic FEM taking into account the nonlinearity of gasket behavior. Non-asbestos spiral wound gaskets were employed. The effect of nominal flange diameter is examined on the gasket contact stress distributions, the hub stress and the variation in axial bolt force (the load factor) is examined. Using the obtained gasket contact stress distribution and the fundamental data of the relationship between gasket compressive stress and gasket leak rate according to JIS B 2490, a method for predicting the leak rate is demonstrated. Experiments to measure the amount of leakage, the hub stress and the variation in axial bolt force when the joint is under internal pressure were carried out. The numerical results of the leak rate, hub stress and the load factor are in a fairly good agreement with the measured results. Then, a method is demonstrated for determining the bolt preload under given conditions, that is, taking into account assembly efficiency, leak rate and internal pressure In addition, bolt preload is determined using the actual gasket contact stress which can be estimated using the value of the load factor. As a design example, the procedure for determining the bolt preload in 3″ and 20″ nominal diameter pipe flange connections is shown for the allowable leak rate of 1.0−3Pa • m3/s. The results are validated by the experiments.


Author(s):  
Koji Kondo ◽  
Koji Sato ◽  
Satomi Takahashi ◽  
Toshiyuki Sawa

Bolted pipe flange connections with metallic gaskets have been used under higher pressure as well as higher temperature. However, a few researches on the mechanical characteristics in connections with metallic gaskets have been carried out. It is necessary to examine the mechanical characteristics such as the contact gasket stress distributions which govern the sealing performance, the deformation of the metallic gaskets, changes in axial bolt forces and the hub stress under higher pressure and temperature. In the present paper, the objectives are to examine the changes in axial bolt forces, the hub stress and the contact gasket stress distributions and the sealing performance of the pipe flange connections with metallic flat gaskets. Firstly, the mechanical characteristics of the connections under higher pressure are analyzed using FEA. Then, experiments were carried out to measure the load factor, the hub stress and the leak rate (the sealing performance). The relationship between the average contact gasket stress and the leak rate was measured using platen device at room temperature. The FEA results are fairly coincided with the experimental results. It is shown that the leak rate decreases as the contact gasket stress increases and when the plastic deformation of gaskets occurs, the sealing performance increases. The leak rate was measured in the range of 10−4∼10−7 [Pa·m3/s]. It is found that the sealing performance increases as the gasket width increase in the elastic deformation range while it is independent of the gasket width when the plastic deformation occurs. The effect of temperature on the mechanical characteristics of the connection is also examined. The FEA results are in a fairly good agreement with the experimental results. It is found that the sealing performance increases as the temperature increases. In addition, a method how to determine the bolt preload for increasing the sealing performance is proposed.


Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Naofumi Ogata

This paper deals with the stress analysis of a pipe flange connection with a spiral wound gasket using the elasto-plastic finite element method taking account the hysteresis and the non-linearity in the stress-strain curve of the spiral wound gasket, when an intemal pressure is applied to the pipe flange connections with the different nominal diameters from 2″ to 20″. The effects of the nominal diameter of the pipe flange on the contact stress distributions at the interfaces are examined. Leakage tests of the pipe flange connections with 3″ and 20″ nominal diameters were conducted and measurement of the axial bolt force was also performed. The results by the finite element analysis are fairly consistent with the experimental results concerning the variation in the axial bolt force. By using the contact stress distributions and the results of the leakage test, the new gasket constants are evaluated. As a result, it is found that the variations in the contact stress distributions are substantial due to the flange rotation in the pipe flange connections with the larger nominal diameter. In addition, a method to determine the bolt preload for a given tightness parameter is demonstrated.


Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Sawa ◽  
Seiichi Hamamoto

In designing a bolted joint, it is important to examine the interface stress distribution (clamping effect) and to estimate the load factor, that is the ratio of an additional axial bolt force to a load. In order to improve the clamping effect raised faces of the interface have been used. But these interfaces in bolted joints have been designed empirically and the theoretical grounds are not made clear. In the present paper, in the case of T-shaped flanges with raised faces the clamping effect is analyzed by a two-dimensional theory of elasticity and the point matching method. Then, the load factor is analyzed. Moreover, with the application of the load a bending moment is occurred in bolts and the stress is added due to this bending moment. The bending moment in the bolt is also analyzed. In order to verify these analyses experiments to measure the load factor and the maximum bolt stress were carried out. The values of the load factor and the load when interface start to separate are compared with those of the joints with flat-faces. The analytical results are in fairly good agreements with the experimental ones.


Author(s):  
Raphael Calazans Cardoso ◽  
Brenno Lima Nascimento ◽  
Felipe de Freitas Thompson ◽  
Sandro Griza

The bolted joints sizing procedures shall adequately match the conditions imposed on the joint in service, to ensure high reliability designs. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the load distributions on the bolt when applying external load on bolted joints. Finite element and extensometry analyses as well as analytical calculations were performed in order to compare the magnitude of the joint overall stiffness, with respect to several available theories. The results acquired through the analytical method prescribed in the VDI 2230 standard as well as the finite element and extensometry analyses obtained great accordance. These results indicate that VDI 2230 standard adequately represents the mechanical behavior of the joint and should be used as a guideline for the reliable design of bolted joints subjected to the loading conditions of the present paper.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document