Use of FEA to Determine Bolted Joint Member

Stiffness

Nicholas Fornaciari, Shawn Lindsay, Andre Chmyrov, ​Ryan Lukomski

MECH4200 Simulation-based Design, Spring 2020

3/2/2020

Wentworth Institute of Technology

550 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115

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Table of Contents

Introduction 3

FEA Analysis 4

Results and discussions 19

Conclusions 21

References 22
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Introduction

In manufacturing practices, it is much simpler and economical to divide assemblies into

sections and then bolt them together, rather than try to make the entire assembly one piece. This
is accomplished with the use of bolted joints. ​Figure 1 ​illustrates some of these common
applications of the bolted joint design.

Figure 1- Examples of bolted Joints

Bolted joints are one of the most common elements in construction and machine design
applications. They use fasteners, bolts, and nuts to clamp two or more parts together. When the
nuts are screwed into the bolts, they apply a clamping force that puts all secured parts under a
compressive load.

To determine the number of bolts needed for a bolted joint, it is important to know the
fastener and member stiffness. The fastener stiffness can be found through theoretical
calculations, as it can be considered as a bar under tension. However, the member stiffness
cannot be theoretically calculated, as only portions of the clamped members are affected by the
clamping force.

If materials of the clamped members are the same, the semi-empirical formula for
member stiffness in bolted joint can be described with:

π·E·d·tanα
km = (L tanα + D−d)(D+d)
2 ln (L tan α +D+d)(D−d)
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k m = member stif f ness

α = half angle of f rustum

E = Y oung ′s modulus

D = bolt f ace diameter

d = bolt nominal diameter

L = grip length

Example: Case 1 of project (d/L - 0.05, L - 7.5)

π·29007600·0.375·tan30
km = (7.5 tan30 + 0.5625−0.375)(0.5625+0.375)
2 ln (7.5 tan30 +0.5625+0.375)(0.5625−0.375)

k m = 6.78 E6

This equation can give approximate results, but the most accurate way to find member stiffness
is through SW simulation. By using SW simulation, different bolted joint configurations can be
used to determine member stiffness, as well as the resulting stresses and their locations. Through
FEA, the fastener will be divided into thousands of small elements to accurately describe the
result of the bolt clamping forces. The simulated member stiffness values will be found using:

axial load
k m−f ea = average resultant displacement

Where the axial load is 1000lbf. By utilizing mesh control, H-method, and split lines, one can
receive accurate results to within 1% for member stiffness [1].

FEA Analysis

The goal of the FEA simulations is to determine the member stiffness and to investigate
the area of the clamped members that the clamping force impacts. Solidworks simulation
software will be utilized to run the studys, and the relative error will be compared to the
semi-empirical calculations. The geometry used for the FEA is shown in ​Figure 2​, along with a
summary of inputs in ​Table 1​ and ​Table 2​.
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​
Figure 2- Illustration of model with nomenclature

d [in] 0.375
D [in] 0.5625
AISI 1020
Material
(steel)
E [lb_f/in^2] 29007600
Half Apex Angle
30
(degrees)
Table 1- Input Parameters
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Material Bolt Size

[in] d/L L [in] Side Length[(in]

0.05 7.5 6.375

0.075 5 4.875

0.1 3.75 4.125

0.25 1.5 2.775

0.375 1 2.475

0.5 0.75 2.325

0.75 0.5 2.175

AISI 3/8"
1020 1 0.375 2.1

1.25 0.3 2.055

1.5 0.25 2.025

1.75 0.214286 2.003571429

2 0.1875 1.9875

2.5 0.15 1.965

3 0.125 1.95
Table 2- Input Parameters
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Resultant
Side Km-FEA Relative Km-FEA/(
d/L L [in] Km [psi] Displacement
Length [in] [psi] Error [%] E*D)
[in]
0.050 7.500 6.375 6.78E+06 7.557E-05 6.616E+06 2.4 6.082E-01
0.075 5.000 4.875 7.09E+06 7.644E-05 6.541E+06 7.8 6.013E-01
Nick
0.100 3.750 4.125 7.40E+06 7.502E-05 6.665E+06 9.9 6.127E-01
0.250 1.500 2.775 9.20E+06 5.762E-05 8.678E+06 5.7 7.977E-01
0.375 1.000 2.475 1.07E+07 4.810E-05 1.040E+07 2.4 9.557E-01
0.500 0.750 2.325 1.21E+07 4.188E-05 1.194E+07 1.1 1.098E+00
Shawn
0.750 0.500 2.175 1.49E+07 3.244E-05 1.541E+07 3.7 1.417E+00
1.000 0.375 2.100 1.76E+07 2.645E-05 1.890E+07 7.3 1.738E+00
1.250 0.300 2.055 2.04E+07 2.596E-05 1.926E+07 5.4 1.771E+00
Andre 1.500 0.250 2.025 2.31E+07 2.152E-05 2.323E+07 0.7 2.136E+00
1.750 0.214 2.004 2.58E+07 2.151E-05 2.325E+07 9.8 2.137E+00
2.000 0.1875 1.988 2.85E+07 1.617E-05 3.092E+07 8.6 2.843E+00
Ryan 2.500 0.150 1.965 3.39E+07 1.355E-05 3.690E+07 9.0 3.392E+00
3.000 0.125 1.950 3.92E+07 1.193E-05 4.191E+07 6.8 3.853E+00
Table 3 - Results
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The simulations were run using symmetry and a 1/8th model. The 1000lb clamping force is
applied to the split line surface and becomes 250 lbs due to symmetry. This is illustrated in
figure 3​.

Figure 3- Examples of bolted Joints

Due to the symmetry, inertial relief was not necessary and the meshing would take less time to
generate. The original global mesh was 0.09375 inches and mesh control set to 0.01875 inches.
The mesh control was applied to the cylindrical face and the split line represented of the bolt
head diameter. However, this was not adequate enough because the theoretical error was greater
than 10%. To improve the results the H-adaptive method was implemented at a 99% target
accuracy and 5 loops. A typical mesh is shown in ​figure 4​.

Figure 4 - Meshing Using Mesh Control and H-Adaptive

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The member stiffness has been determined with FEA and the following equation;

axial load
k m−f ea = average resultant displacement of top and bottom surf ace

Where the axial load is 1000lbs and the average resultant displacement was taken by probing the
surface under the bolts washer which is distinguished by a split line. Due to symmetry this value
was doubled as opposed to probing the top and bottom surface. ·

Figure 5 - The dimensionless stiffness plotted against corresponding aspect ratio

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Figure 6 -Member stiffness and Aspect Ratio Relationship

Figure 7 - Relative error for all configurations of aspect ratio

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Figure 8 - H-Adaptive Convergence

Figure 9 -Axial Displacement

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Figure 10 - d/L 0.05 Axial Loading

Figure 11 - d/L 0.075 Axial Loading

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Figure 12 - d/L 0.1 Axial Loading

Figure 13 - d/L 0.25 Axial Loading

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Figure 14 - d/L 0.375 Axial Loading

Figure 15 - d/L 0.5 Axial Loading

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Figure 16 - d/L 0.75 Axial Loading

Figure 17 - d/L 1.0 Axial Loading

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Figure 18 - d/L 1.25 Axial Loading

Figure 19 - d/L 1.5 Axial Loading

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Figure 20 - d/L 1.75 Axial Loading

Figure 21 - d/L 2.0 Axial Loading

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Figure 22 - d/L 2.5 Axial Loading

Figure 23 - d/L 3.0 Axial Loading

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Results and discussions

We gained a lot of experience by using Solidworks FEA to simulate the bolted joint
member stiffness. A time saving technique such as cutting the part into 8 pieces and using the
symmetry restraint allowed us to run many simulations quickly. By setting up the part constraints
in the equations we could change the parameters easily. We also learned how important it is to
have a good mesh so that the results from the simulation are correct.

The member stiffness determined from our FEA resembles the semi-empirical and FEA
curves in ​Shigley’s Mechanical; Engineering Design ​shown in ​figure 24.

Figure 24 - Reference member stiffness curve from Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design
textbook
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The relative error in our FEA is plotted with respect to aspect ratio (d/L) in ​figure 7. ​This figure
shows that the relative error never exceeds 10% for all aspect ratio configurations and the
fluctuations in error are mostly due to differences in mesh size. Furthermore, the stiffness
parameters, A and B, that result from the FEA simulations are shown using curve fit and
displaying the R^2 values in ​Figure 5​. Where A=0.803, B=.571, R^2=.941 it can be seen that
F​igure 25 ​further validates our results, because the published values for steel are not far off from
the simulation based values[1]. Also, an R^2 value of .941 is close to 1. This means our data
regression predictions almost perfectly fit the data.

Figure 25 - Expected A and B constant values

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Conclusions
Our recommendation for the member stiffness of the bolted joint would depend on the
aspect ratio, d/L, which is the purpose of our investigation. From running various aspect ratios
we were able to determine a curve fit. The equation of this line would allow for an accurate
estimation of member stiffness for a 3/8" based on the aspect ratio or the length of the edge.
However, the stress on the bolt must also be considered due to the fact that a higher member
stiffness means an increase in stress on bolt which may lead to potential deformation or even
failure. Since the restraints of the needed bolted joint are unknown it is difficult to give a valid
recommendation, further FEA with the required restraints is needed to make a valid
recommendation for the member stiffness .
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References

[1] Richard G. Budynas and J. Keith Nisbett, ​Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design,​ page
416-424, 10​th​ edition, McGraw Hill Education, 2014.

[2] Choudhury, M., 1988, "Member Stiffness of Bolted Joints," Master's Thesis, Georgia
Institute of Technology.

[3] Fritsche, G., 1962, "Grundlagen einer genaueren Berechnung statisch und dynamisch
beanspruchter Schraubenverbindungen," Dissertation, Technischen Universitat Berlin.

[4] Gould, H. H. and Mikic, B. B., 1972, "Areas of Contact and Pressure Distribution in Bolted
Joints," ASME Journal of Engineering for Industry, Vol. 94, No. 3, pp. 864-870