The COSMOS Companion

Modeling Connectors - Bolts

Volume 101

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What is the COSMOS Companion?

The COSMOS Companion is a series of short subjects to help design engineers build better products with SolidWorks Analysis Video presentations and accompanying exercises A tool for Continuous Learning on your schedule Pre-recorded videos are accompanied by a more detailed webcast with Q & A
Download videos and review webcast schedule at:
http://www.cosmosm.com/pages/news/COSMOS_Companion.html

It is not an alternative to instructor-led introductory training

We highly recommend you take a course with your local reseller to build a solid knowledge base

Bolted Joints
Fastener loads are an important output of a Finite Element model
Simple to calculate on simple problems
F

L/2

F
F/2

L
F/2

Bolted Joints
Fastener loads are an important output of a Finite Element model
Not so straightforward as model complexity increases

Bolted Joints
Primary Causes of Bolted Joint Failure Failure to Provide Sufficient Clamping Force
Preload must exceed external loads

Bolt Overloaded by External Loads

Bolt loaded beyond yield strength Weakened Joint Bolt loaded beyond tensile strength Joint Failure Shear Failure also critical

Fatigue Failure
Repeated loading requires a preload in excess of peak alternating loads to minimize cyclic loading of bolt

Excessive Bearing Pressure

Compressive pressure under the bolt head or nut should not exceed the compressive yield strength of the joint material

Thread Stripping
Shear failure of threads as a combination of preload and external loading

Bolted Joints
Bolt Connector Output Component Forces in Shear, Axial, and Bending Use these forces to size bolts Remember that in a redundant system, bolt loads will be a function of their stiffness
Stiffer Bolts will carry more load

Calculate bolt acceptability using standard tables and calculations for proof strength and thread failure

If bolts are resized, simulation should be repeated with new sizes

Bolt Connector Basics

Bolt With Nut Choose Head & Nut Contact Faces Must be on separate parts Should be Split Lines at Bolt Head, Washer, and/or Nut Diameters Bolt holes dont necessarily need to be selected or even exist. Bolt and Nut Contact Faces should be concentric but COSMOSWorks will allow selection of non-concentric faces!

Bolt Connector Basics

Bolt without Nut Select Head Contact Face on one part and Shank Contact face(s) on another part.
Shank Contact Face corresponds to the threaded hole in the second part involved in the bolted joint. Shank Contact Faces must be cylindrical, coaxial, and on the same part. Icon appears to allow 2 or more parts to be selected but only one Shank Contact Face is allowed Head Contact Face should be a Split Line at the diameter of the bolt head or washer & concentric with Shank Contact Face
COSMOSWorks doesnt require a split line, concentricity or a clearance hole in Component 1

Bolt Connector Basics

Grounded Bolt Grounded Bolt is the only Bolt Connector option available in a Part document. Others require an assy Select Head Contact Face on Component 1
Head Contact Face should be a Split Line at the diameter of the bolt head or washer
COSMOSWorks doesnt require a split line, concentricity or a clearance hole in Component 1

Select a Plane representing the contact face which the Bolt preloads Component 1 against
This must be the plane a Virtual Wall contact condition is (or will be) defined with. COSMOSWorks allows you to exit the input form without selecting this plane but the solve will fail! Must be a reference plane, not a flat solid face If a Virtual Contact condition is not defined, the solver will return with an error message instructing you to define it.

Bolt Connector Basics

Tight Fit Option The tight fit option requires the selection of a thru hole It is assumed that the bolt has no radial clearance and, essentially, plugs the hole. In reality, COSMOSWorks makes the hole around the bolt rigid so that there are no local deformations. This results in an overly stiff bolt/hole and should be used with caution.

Bolt Connector Basics

General Assumptions
The Bolt Head/Washer and the Nut contact faces always remain in contact with the Bolted Components and cannot slide due to shear loads (infinite friction). If the Tight Fit option is selected, the Bolt shank is rigidly tied to the thru holes. They cannot slide or deform under shear loading No clearance or elasticity in the bolt. Otherwise, the Bolt Shank does not interact with the thru holes in any way.

Bolt Connector Basics

Define a material or choose one from the COSMOS Material Library If a library material is chosen, COSMOSWorks copies the Youngs Mod, Poissons Ratio, and CTE to the Bolt definitionit doesnt link the Bolt to the material
Changes to a library material will not be reflected in any existing Bolt definitions Failure properties (Yield, Ultimate Strength, Fatigue Strength) are not used by the Bolt

Bolt Connector Basics

Preload can be defined as an axial force or as a Bolt Torque An axial preload imposes an internal force on the Bolt that imparts a compressive load on the bolted parts
A spec of 1000 lb preload gives you a 1000 lb preload

A Torque preload converts input torque (as might be applied to the head or nut) to axial preload.

Preloading Bolts
The Torque to Preload conversion uses these relationships:
Bolt with a Nut: Faxial = T/(K*D) **Nut Torqued Bolt w/o a Nut: Faxial = T/(K*D*1.2) **Head Torqued
The 1.2 factor compensates for shank wind-up when the head is tightened.

T = Applied Torque D = Nominal Bolt Diameter K = Torque Coefficient

Preloading Bolts
Torque Coefficient, K The calculation of K involves thread diameters, thread lead angle, friction coefficients, and thread angles Since friction coefficients are very difficult to estimate in a real-world application, it is recommended that published ball park K values be utilized:
Non-Plated Zinc-Plated Lubricated Cadmium-Plated K=0.30 K=0.20 0.28 K=0.18 K=0.12 0.15

When in doubt, use 0.20 for initial analyses but it is highly recommended that a more empirical correlation of torque to preload be made using the actual parts, bolts and tightening system to ensure better predictability of preload

Preloading Bolts
More thoughts on preloading: Remember that the torque that contributes to preload includes a component of running torque which is the torque required to overcome friction before load is engaged. This also varies greatly and must be subtracted from the total applied torque High levels of friction or the use of thread lock can cause high shear (torsional) stresses to occur in a bolt shank that must be added to axial stress when considering applied stress. It is recommended that the total stress in a singleuse bolt not exceed 90% of the Yield Strength Up to 85% of the measured torque can be attributed to losses that dont contribute to preload such as under-head friction and thread deformation. Again, correlation in a controlled test is ideal Typical error levels for different preloading methods:
Operator Feel Torque Wrench Angle (Turn of Nut) Control Load Indicating Washer Measure Bolt Elongation Hydraulic Bolt Pretension Strain Gage/Ultrasonics +/- 35% +/- 25% +/- 15% +/- 10% +/- 5% +/- 1-10% +/- 1%

Bolts in Shear
Clearance Hole 0.36 Dia

100#

100#
0.25

0.25

100#

M=100# * 0.25 = 25 lb-in

Bolts in Shear
Bolt Connector: 0.00039 Solid Bolt: 0.00037 Difference: 5%

Bolts in Shear Tight Fit

30% Difference Non-Conservative if bolt is expected to carry shear load

Bolts in Shear Tight Fit

Connector Note Holes retain Cylindrical Shape

Solid Bolt Note Holes Deform as expected

Bolts in Tension

100#

Bolts in Tension
Bolt Strength = Proof Strength, Sp
90% of 0.2% Yield Strength

Proof Load: Fp = At * Sp
At = Tensile Stress Area

- 20 UNC Bolt Grade 5

Nominal Diameter, Dn = 0.25 in Tensile Stress Area, At = 0.0318 in2 Grade 5 Proof Strength, Sp = 85,000 psi Proof Load, Fp = AtSp = 2,700 lbf : Reused Connections : Permanent Connections

Guideline Preload, Fi
Fi = 0.75Fp Fi = 0.90Fp

Preload for Permanent Connection = 2,430 lbf

Source: Mechanical Engineering Design 5th Ed.; Shigley & Mischke; McGraw-Hill; 1989

Bolts in Tension

Von Mises Stress

Contact Pressure

Bolts in Tension
Joint Stiffness Calculations D

Compression Stiffness of Joint, Kj

F=2430# D = 0.000172 Kj = F/D = 14,125,000 #/in

Extension Stiffness of Bolt, Kb A0.25 = 0.049 in2 E=30e6 psi L = 0.50 in. Kb = AE/L = 2,945,000 #/in Preload Extension = F/K = 0.000825 in.

Bolts in Tension
Joint Diagram
3,000 Bolt Carries Entire Load

Applied Load (Lbf)

2,000 Preload ( 2,430 lbf) Bolt Extension Preload 0 Joint Compression Preload

1,000

Extension/Compression (in^10-4)

Separation Load ( 2,950 lbf)

Bolts in Tension
Separation Load

Contact Pressure

P3 Stress P1 Stress

Presentation Summary
In this COSMOS Companion unit, we explored the use of Bolt Connectors to represent bolted joints Inherent assumptions for each Connector type was reviewed Bolt Connector output compared favorably to theoretical results The concept of Joint Diagrams was introduced as a means to estimate separation loads for bolt sizing including preliminary preload calculations

Conclusion
For more information
Contact your local reseller for more in-depth training or support on using Connectors and modeling bolted joints Review the on-line help for a more detailed description of the features discussed Attend, or better yet, present at a local COSMOS or SolidWorks user group.
See http://www.swugn.org/ for a user group near you

References on bolted joints:

Mechanical Engineering Design 5th Ed.; Shigley & Mischke; McGraw-Hill; 1989 Unbrako Engineering Guide; SPS Technologies; Cleveland, OH; www.unbrako.com