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Influence of the Interfacial Pressure Distribution on Loosening of Bolted Joints
Author(s) -
Marshall M. B.,
Zainal I.,
Lewis R.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
strain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.477
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1475-1305
pISSN - 0039-2103
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2010.00734.x
Subject(s) - bolted joint , washer , structural engineering , joint (building) , torque , work (physics) , transducer , fastener , materials science , engineering , mechanical engineering , finite element method , physics , electrical engineering , thermodynamics
Bolted joints are used throughout industry as a method for fastening components together. Sometimes the joints can be safety critical and the consequences of loosening catastrophic. The work outlined in this article initially uses a focusing ultrasonic approach to study pressure distributions in a bolted joint at different torque levels and using a variety of washer designs. The spread of the contact pressure is very important as it is used directly in joint design to determine their structural integrity. Analytical models exist to predict the spread, but very little actual measured data. The results showed clear differences in spread and magnitude of the pressure between the washers enabling their performance to be ranked. In the second part of the work, contact ultrasound transducers were used to investigate the effects of cyclic loading on joints and to assess whether the technique would be suitable for use in condition monitoring. The results indicated that the technique was viable with distinct changes in contact pressure recorded after the loading.