Journal of Constructional Steel Research 160 (2019) 45–53

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Journal of Constructional Steel Research

Research on preload of bolted joints tightening sequence-related

relaxation considering elastic interaction between bolts
Ying Li a,b, Zhifeng Liu a,b,⁎, Yuezhen Wang c, Ligang Cai a,b, Wenxiang Xu a,b
a
Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Intelligent Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
b
Beijing Key Laboratory of advanced manufacturing technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
c
Department of Mathematics and Physics, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang 050043, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Preload relaxation, caused by elastic interaction between tightened bolts, is one of the major reasons for
Received 17 August 2018 non-uniformity of pretension force. But how to accurately assess the residual tension of a bolt is still extremely
Received in revised form 10 January 2019 difficult. This paper considers two types of multiple bolted joint and six kinds of tightening sequence. Based on
Accepted 19 January 2019
the deformation compatibility equation and elastic interaction stiffness, the generalized mathematical model
Available online 30 May 2019
for evaluating residual preload of bolts is established. Certain model parameters are obtained through numerical
Keywords:
simulation. To analyze the influence of initial tightening torque, spacing between bolt holes, bolt material and
Multi-bolted joint gasket material on the elastic interaction stiffness, experimental devices and test procedures are developed.
Elastic interaction stiffness Furtherly, preload relaxation models are validated by tests conducted on six types of multi-bolted joint with
Preload relaxation the same surface roughness. Results of the proposed mathematical model of pretension force show a good con-
Generalized mathematical model sistency with those of corresponding experiment.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The elastic interaction is defined as the change in preload of a tight-

Threaded fasteners are generally used to connect mechanical com-
ponents due to their strong interchangeability and ease of disassembly.
The assembly quality of bolted joints composed of many substructures
is crucial to the sealability of pressure vessels, the reliability of aerospace
key components, the safety of rail transportation equipment and the
bearing capacity of machine tool beams. When a multi-bolted joint is
tightened, the pretension force often relaxes because of the elastic inter-
action between the bolts. Therefore, uniform distribution of the target
preload force is difficult to attain. Previous studies on the dynamic
performance and preload optimization of multi-bolted joints do not
consider the effect of elastic interaction [1–3]. Moreover, the elastic in-
teraction wasn't considered in the recent study on the effect transverse
vibration on the relaxation behavior of multi-bolt joints for transmis-
sion towers [4]. At present, it is generally accepted by researchers that
the pre-tightening force is used to characterize the relaxation mecha-
nism of bolted joints [5–7]. To improve the service life and reliability
of multi-bolted joints, an investigation on the elastic interaction mech-
anism between tightened bolts and its influence on preload relaxation
is necessary.
⁎ Corresponding author at: Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Intelligent
Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
E-mail address: lzf@bjut.edu.cn (Z. Liu).
ened bolt due to fastening of neighboring bolts of neighboring bolts
under a particular tightening sequence. In view of the complexity of
influence factors, studies on elastic interaction mechanisms based on
experimental and numerical methods have been executed. Bibel and
Ezell reported that the elastic interaction between adjacent bolts leads
to a significant reduction in the initial tightening force of some
bolts. Furthermore, experimental methods were developed to analyze
the effect of bolt size, number of bolts, gasket stiffness and tightening se-
quence on preload relaxation. Based on research results, a compensa-
tion method for improving service life of bolted joints was proposed
[8,9]. However, this technique will inevitably increase the probability
of material yield and fatigue fracture. Nassar and Alkelani experimen-
tally analyzed the effect of gasket material, gasket thickness, bolt spac-
ing, and bolt tightening method on the elastic interaction under a star-
pattern tightening sequence [10]. They found that the non-uniform dis-
tribution of preload in a multi-bolted joint drops significantly if bolts are
tightened simultaneously, which is consistent with the conclusion pre-
sented in [11,12]. Nevertheless, it is difficult to realize the simultaneous
tightening technology due to high cost and harsh working conditions.
For this reason, multi-pass tightening strategy was studied and widely
used in engineering. Ezell reported that the uniformity of preload distri-
bution in a multi-bolted joint was improved by increasing the number
of fastening passes [13]. Cavallaro et al. experimentally studied the
loss of bolt preload over time under two-pass tightening pattern,
which improved the credibility of results [14]. On the basis of these

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2019.01.016
0143-974X/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
46 Y. Li et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 160 (2019) 45–53
Fig. 1. Illustration of preload relaxation behavior in multi-bolted joint with elastic interaction.
works, the effect of multi-pass tightening strategy on preload distribu-
tion was analyzed by Zhang [15] and Hu [16]. However, the elastic inter-
action between the bolts persisted even with a multi-pass tightening
pattern.
Additional studies have shown elastic interactions are reproducible
and predictable. Therefore, to evaluate the elastic interaction between
bolts and reduce the dispersion of the preload in multi-bolted joints,
elastic interaction models were established. The model proposed by
Campen is commonly used to quantitatively analyze preload distribu-
tion of multiple bolted connections [17]. However, the coefficient
matrix must be determined experimentally. The coefficients in an accu-
rate matrix are related to various parameters, such as the number of
bolts, bolt spacing, structural geometry, bolt arrangement, tightening
sequence and load increment. Nassar et al. proposed an elastic interac-
tion model based on the assumption that deformation of the gasket is
much larger than deformation of the connected part, and the influence
of elastic interaction on the distribution of the pre-tightening force was
determined by experiment [18–20]. Akelani et al. studied the elastic in-
teraction mechanism by ignoring the effects of the connecting member
stiffness in the bolted joint.
Limitations of experimental procedures and the complexity of data
analysis have led to use of the finite element method (FEM) to reveal
the elastic interaction mechanism between tightened bolts. Yuan et al.
analyzed the elastic interaction between bolts in a gear coupling using
the FEM [21]. They concluded that the elastic interaction is one of the
important factors leading to nonlinear deformation of the connected
members. Nonlinear finite element model of a multi-bolted joint was
previously established, and the influence of tightening strategy on
Fig. 2. Simplified model of elastic interaction in a LMBJ.
preload distribution was analyzed using the elastic interaction coeffi-
cient method [22,23]. Further to this, Zhu et al. considered the nonlinear
elastic properties of a gasket and proposed a new method of numerical
analysis for studying elastic interaction [24–26]. Moreover, dispersion
of the pre-tightening force was evaluated and a method for optimizing
the multi-bolted joints was proposed. Based on the established elastic
interaction parametric model, Abasolo et al. proposed an optimization
method to realize the uniform distribution of preload on multi-bolted
joints [27,28]. Wang et al. established an analytical model of the elastic
interaction stiffness by analyzing the stress field of multiple bolted joints
and studied the influence of the interaction stiffness on the initial
clamping force of a bolt [29]. However, the proposed mathematical
model and finite element model were not validated by experiment. Yu
et al. performed numerical simulations based on either positive or
negative elastic interaction and found negative interaction significantly
reduces the preload of a bolt [30]. Bouzid et al. proposed an elastic inter-
action model based on the FEM, which was used to analyze the effect of
internal temperature on preload relaxation and elastic interaction
Fig. 3. Force analysis of LMBJ under two different tightening sequences, (a) 1-2-3-…-n, (b)
1-3-5-…-(n − 1)-2-4-…-n.
 Y. Li et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 160 (2019) 45–53 47

Fig. 4. Force analysis of AMBJ under different tightening sequences, (a) 1-2-…-n (successive tightening), (b) 1-3-5-…-(n − 1)-2-4-…-n (interval tightening, n is an odd number),
(c) 1-3-5-…-(n − 1)-2-4-…-n (interval tightening, n is an even number).

[31,32]. Coria et al. developed a new methodology based on numerically
and experimentally to achieve uniform bolt load distribution [33].
This paper presents an essential approach to establish generalized
mathematical model of preload relaxation under elastic interaction.
Certain parameters in the model are determined by numerical analysis.
Furthermore, two experiments were performed. The first to analysis the
elastic interaction stiffness and the second to validate the proposed
model of pretension force relaxation. The results provide a theoretical
basis for designing the initial preload, obtaining uniform distribution
of the target pre-tightening force and improve the service life of bolts.
2. Mathematical model of preload relaxation with elastic interaction
2.1. Description of elastic interaction
Two kinds of multiple bolted joint are considered in this study:
linear-multi-bolted joint (LMBJ) and annular-multi-bolted joint
(AMBJ). The elastic interaction between bolts can be described using a
simplified physical model, as shown in Fig. 1. In the model, the rough
contact surface is represented as a thin plate of thickness t. First, the
torque wrench is used to tighten bolt 1 until it reaches the target
preload, as shown in Fig. 1(a). It is not difficult to see that significant
deformation surrounding bolt hole generated. Then, bolts 2 and 3 are
tightened using the same method. The tightening force of bolt 1 is re-
duced during tightening of bolt 2, as shown in Fig. 1(b). The tightening
force of bolts 1 and 2 are loss during tightening of bolt 3, as shown in
Fig. 1(c). Based on these mechanical relationships, preload relaxation
model under different tightening sequences is established.
In this paper, two bolt tightening sequences are investigated and the
distance between adjacent bolts is considered equal. Forces acting on the
multi-bolted joint under each tightening sequence are shown in Fig. 3.
In Fig. 3(a), the bolt tightening sequence is 1-2-3-…-n. According to
Saint-Venant's principle, if a digital torque wrench is used to tighten the
j-th bolt (j = i + 1), the residual preload of the i-th bolt under elastic in-
teraction can be expressed as
F i; j ¼ ki δ0i þ ΔF i; j ð1Þ
where Fi, j is the preload of the i-th tightened bolt under elastic interac-
tion during tightening of the j-th bolt, δ0i is the axial displacement of the
upper node, and mui is the mass of the i-th spring element under the ini-
tial tightening torque.
When the j-th bolt is tightened, due to the elastic interaction, the
change in axial displacement δi, j of the upper node mui of the i-th bolt
hole is comprised of two parts: deformation caused by the elastic inter-
action during tightening of the j-th bolt and axial rebound deformation
caused by the change in preload of the i-th bolt. Displacement of i-th
bolt hole exhibits strong nonlinearity. To obtain an analytical expression
for the change in the preload of the i-th bolt and elastic interaction stiff-
ness, the deformation coordination equation must first be established
and can be defined as
δi; j þ δbi; j ¼ 0 ð2Þ
where δbi, j is the change in axial displacement change of the i-th bolt
under the elastic interaction.

2.2. Preload relaxation model of LMBJ

The contact surface between the bolt and connected part is defined
as the upper surface. The contact surface between the nut and con-
nected member is defined as the lower surface. It is assumed that both
surfaces exhibit the same three-dimensional morphology and rough-
ness. The elastic interaction between bolts is equivalent to spring stiff-
ness keq. There is a hypothesis that bolt elongation is equal to the
compression deformation of connected parts under the preload condi-
tion. On this basis, the bolt hole of a multi-bolted joint can be simplified
to a ‘node-spring’ model within the elastic deformation range of the
bolt. Based on the above analysis, a physical model of the elastic interac-
tion between bolts in the LMBJ is shown in Fig. 2.
In Fig. 2, mui denotes the central node of the i-th bolt hole on the upper
surface, mdi represented the central node of the i-th bolt hole on the lower
surface, ki is the axial stiffness of the i-th spring element between mui and
mdi , and ki,eqj is the elastic interaction stiffness between thej-th bolt and i-th
bolt when the j-th bolt is tightened. Axial stiffness ki is required to resist
the axial elastic deformation of the bolt hole and ki,eqj plays an important Fig. 5. Illustration of the experimental setup for monitoring the elastic interaction stiffness
role in resisting deformation caused by the elastic interaction. between bolts.
48 Y. Li et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 160 (2019) 45–53

Table 1 Table 2
Parameters of parts used in double-bolted joint. Experimental value of F2 and ΔF1, 2 based on different conditions.

Young's modulus Cross sectional area Ab1 Screw length Lb1 Spring stiffness k1 Tightening torque of bolts were the same:
Eb1 GPa mm2 mm N/m
Parameter 20 Nm 30 Nm 40 Nm 50 Nm 60 Nm
193 197.82 80 7.383e+08
F2 (KN) 6.2 10.65 13.3 17.21 20.7
ΔF1,2 (KN) 0.38 0.7 1.38 0.3 0.2

Using the stress-strain constitutive relation, a model of the axial dis- Tightening torque of bolt 2 was changed:
placement variation of joint mui and the i-th bolt can be characterized as Parameter 20 Nm 30 Nm 40 Nm 50 Nm 60 Nm

8 F2 (KN) 6.7 10.4 14.5 18.21 22.2

>
> Δ F i; j Fj ΔF1,2 (KN) 0.38 0.62 0.88 1.08 1.32
>
> δ ¼ þ i; j
< i; j ki k eq
ð3Þ Different spacing between bolt holes:
>
> Δ F i; j Lbi
> b
: δi; j ¼ b b
> Parameter 50 mm 60 mm 70 mm 80 mm 90 mm
E i Ai
F2 (KN) 8.6 9.3 8.8 9.3 10.65
ΔF1,2 (KN) 1.1 0.72 0.26 0.5 0.7
where ΔFi, j is the change in preload of the i-th bolt under elastic inter-
Material of bolt and gasket:
action, Fj is the preload of bolt j, Lbi is the effective length of the screw, Ebi
is Young's modulus of the i-th bolt, and Abi is the effective cross-sectional Parameter A2-70 stainless A2-70 stainless High-strength High-strength
steel bolt and steel bolt and grade 8.8 bolt grade 8.8 bolt
area of the i-th bolt. 201 stainless Q235 and 201 and Q235
Substituting Eq. (3) into Eq. (2), an analytical solution of preload steel gasket high-strength stainless steel high-strength
change can be obtained. Combined with Eq. (1), the residual preload gasket gasket gasket
of the i-th bolt when elastic interaction exists can be derived as F2 (KN) 10.65 8.85 8.4 10.23
ΔF1,2 (KN) 0.7 0.31 0.22 0.1

k E b Ab
F i; j ¼ ki δ0i −  i i i  Fj ð4Þ
i; j
keq Ebi Abi þ ki Lbi
can be expressed as

0 1
Based on Hooke's law, the load-deformation equation of the i-th 1 Y n

B1 −C 1 C1C2 −C 1 C 2 C 3 ⋯ ð−1Þm−1 C m−1 C

B C 0 m¼1 C
‘node-spring’ can be constructed. Furthermore, combined with Eq. (4), 0 1 B C 0 01
B
B0 1 Y n C F1
an elastic interaction stiffness model between bolts is proposed and F 1;n 1 −C 2 C2C3 ⋯ ð−1Þm−2 C m−1 C
B F 2;n C B C 1 m¼2 C B 0C
B C B C B F2 C
can be defined by B F 3;n C B 1 Y
C B C
C B C B 0C
n
B
B F 4;n C ¼ B 0 0 1 −C 3 ⋯ ð−1Þm−1 C m−1 C  B F 30 C ð6Þ
B C B C 2 m¼3 C B
B F4 C
C
@ ⋮ A B B
C
C @ ⋮ A
B 1 Y n C
F 0i F j Ebi Abi F k Eb Ab F n;n B0
B 0 0 1 ⋯ ð−1Þm−2 C m−1 C
C F 0n
i; j
keq ¼   ¼ j i i i  ð5Þ B C 3 m¼4 C
@⋮ A
F 0i −F i; j δ0i Ebi Abi þ F 0i Lbi Δ F i; j Ebi Abi þ ki Lbi ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮
0 0 0 0 ⋯ 1 nn

To evaluate the connection quality and reliability of a multi-bolted
joint, the residual preload after successive tightening of n bolts must
be calculated. According to Eq. (4), the i-th coefficient can be deter-
mined by Ci = kiEbi Abi /[ki,eqj(Ebi Abi + kiLbi )]. The pretension force of each
bolt is determined based on an iterative method and in matrix form,
The bolt tightening sequence for equidistant bolts, as shown in Fig. 3
(b), is 1-3-…-(n − 1)-2-4-…-n. When the k-th bolt (k = i − 1) and j-th
bolt j (k = i + 1) are tightened, the elastic interaction between the ad-
jacent bolts affects the preload of the i-th tightened bolt. Based on the
mechanical analysis of the i-th bolt and Saint-Venant's principle, the

Fig. 6. Analysis flowchart on the elastic interaction stiffness.

 Y. Li et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 160 (2019) 45–53 49

Fig. 7. Influence of different factors on the elastic interaction stiffness, (a) initial tightening torque of both bolts is the same, (b) only initial tightening torque of bolt 2 varies, (c) spacing
between bolt holes varies, (d) different combinations of bolt and gasket materials.

mechanical equilibrium equation of the i-th bolt, when the j-th and k-th
bolts are successively tightened using a digital torque wrench, is
F i; j ¼ ki δ0i þ ΔF i;k þ ΔF i; j
where ki,eqk represents the equivalent elastic interaction stiffness be-
tween the k-th bolt and i-th bolt and δi, k is the change in displacement
of node mui when the i-th bolt hole is subjected to elastic interaction.
To avoid confusion, coefficient Ci is introduced to describe the
ð7Þ change of bolt preload for a particular tightening sequence. Therefore,

Fig. 8. Flowchart of numerical analysis and experimental validation.

50 Y. Li et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 160 (2019) 45–53

Fig. 9. Three-dimensional solid models of LMBJ and AMBJ with either three and four bolts.

we first define Ci, j = − kiEbi Abi /[ki,eqj(Ebi Abi + kiLbi )]. Joint quality of a multi- experiment are certain to increase if the proposed preload relaxation
bolted joint based on a particular tightening method can be determined model is used to analyze the bolt preload in a flange structure. There-
by the number of bolts, therefore, the initial residual preload model of fore, the flange structure is simplified to an AMBJ. To ensure the flange
the bolt can be given for two cases: structure is properly sealed, distance between bolts must be equal.
Two types of tightening sequence were considered: successively
(1) When the number of bolts is even,
tightening and interval tightening. The forces acting on the multi-bolted
annular joint under different tightening sequences are shown in Fig. 4.
0 1 0 1 Based on the hypothesis that elastic interaction in a multi-bolted
F 1;n 1 C 1;2 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 0
B F 2;n C B 0 1 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 0 C joint only occurs between adjacent bolts, a residual preload model of a
B C B C
B F 3;n C B 0 C 3;2 1 C 3;4 ⋯ 0 0 0 C multi-bolted joint containing n bolts under different tightening se-
B C B C
B F 4;n C B 0 0 0 1 ⋯ 0 0 0 C quences can be established.
B C B C
B F 5;n C ¼ B 0 0 0 C 5;4 ⋯ 0 0 0 C
B C B C
B ⋮ C B⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ C (1) Tightening sequence is sequential tightening, i.e., successive
B C B C
@ F n−1;n A @ 0 0 0 0 ⋯ C n−1;n−2 1 C n−1;n A tightening
F n;n 0 0 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 1
0 0 1 nn
F1
B F0 C
B 2 C
B 0 C 0 1
B F3 C
B 0 C 1 Y n
B C ⋯ C 1;n þ
 B F 40 C ð8Þ B 1 C 1;2 C 1;2 C 2;3
C 0;1 m¼1
C m−1;m C
B F C 0 1 B C
B 5 C F 1;n B C
B ⋮ C B
B F 2;n C B 0 1 Y n C
C
B 0 C B C B 1 C 2;3 ⋯ C m−1;m C
@F A B F 3;n C ¼ B C 1;2 m¼1 C
n−1
B C B C
F 0n @ ⋮ A B
B0 1 Y n C
C
B 0 1 ⋯ C m−1;m C
F n;n B C 2;3 m¼1 C
@⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ A

00 1 0 0 ⋯ 1 nn
(2) When the number of bolts is odd,
F0
B 10 C
B F2 C
0 1 0 1 0 0 1 B C
⋯ F1  B F0 C ð10Þ
F 1;n 1 C 1;2 0 0 0 0 0 0
B F0 C B 3C
B F 2;n C B 0
B C B 1 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 0 0CC B 2 C @ ⋮ A
B F 3;n C B 0 C 3;2 ⋯ 0C B 0 C
B C B 1 C 3;4 0 0 0 C B F3 C F 0n
B F 4;n C B 0 ⋯ 0C B 0 C
0 0 1 0 0 0 B F4 C
B
B ⋮ C ¼ B⋮
C B
⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮C
C  B C ð9Þ
B C B C B ⋮ C
B F n−2;n C B 0 B 0 C
B C B 0 0 0 ⋯ C n−2;n−3 1 C n−2;n−1 0CC B F C
@ F n−1;n A @ 0 B n−2 C
0 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 1 0A @ F0 A
n−1
F n;n 0 0 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 C n;n−1 1 nn F 0
n (2) Tightening sequence is interval preloading

2.3. Preloading relaxation model of AMBJ

In this sequence, preload distribution in a multi-bolted joint depends
Significant differences exist between the flange structure of a pres- on the number of bolts. When the number of bolts is odd, the mathe-
sure vessel and a LMBJ. The preload errors obtained by calculation and matical model of preload loss due to elastic interaction can be repre-

Table 3
Thermo-physical properties of materials in double-bolt joints.

Material Density (Kg/m3) Young's modulus (GPa) Poisson's ratio Thermal expansion coefficient (°C−1) Thermal Conductivity (W/m°C)

45 7890 209 0.269 11.59 × 10−6 50.2

A2-70 7930 193 0.3 17.2 × 10−6 16.3
 Y. Li et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 160 (2019) 45–53 51

sented as A2–70 stainless steel and that of the gasket was 201. In experiment
0 1 0 1 (4), different materials were tested. For all experiments, the hole-
F 1;n 1 C 1;2 0 0 0 ⋯ C 1;n C n;n−1 C 1;n diameter was 18 mm.
B F 2;n C B 0 1 0 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 C
B C B C
B F 3;n C B 0 C 3;2 1 C 3;4 0 ⋯ 0 0 C (1) Initial tightening torque of two bolts and varied in the range of 20
B C B C
B F 4;n C B 0 0 0 1 0 ⋯ 0 0 C to 60 Nm. The incremental step was set to 10 Nm. Spacing be-
B C B C
B F 5;n C ¼ B 0 0 0 C 5;4 1 ⋯ 0 0 C tween the bolt holes was 90 mm;
B C B C
B ⋮ C B⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ C
B C B C (2) The initial tightening torque of bolt 1 was held constant at 20 Nm
@ F n−1;n A @ 0 0 0 0 0 ⋯ 1 0 A and the tightening torque of bolt 2 varied in the range of 20 to
F n;n 0 0 0 0 0 ⋯ C n;n−1 1
0 0 1 nn 60 Nm. The incremental step was set to 10 Nm. Spacing between
F1 the bolt holes was 90 mm;
B F0 C
B 2 C (3) The initial tightening torque of both bolts was set to 30 Nm. Five
B 0 C
B F3 C spacings between bolt holes were considered: 50, 60, 70, 80 and
B 0 C
B C
 B F 40 C ð11Þ 90 mm;
B F C
B 5 C (4) Four bolt and gasket combinations with different materials were
B ⋮ C
B 0 C assessed: A2–70 stainless steel bolt and 201 stainless steel gas-
@F A
n−1 ket, A2–70 stainless steel bolt and Q235 high-strength gasket,
F 0n high-strength grade 8.8 bolt and 201 stainless steel gasket,
high-strength grade 8.8 bolt and Q235 high-strength gasket.
When the number of bolts is even, the preload relaxation model of a
bolt can be expressed as
0 1 0 1 The initial pretension force of bolt 2 and preload relaxation of bolt 1
F 1;n 1 C 1;2 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 C 1;n
B F 2;n C B 0 1 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 0 C under different experimental conditions were presented in Table 2.
B C B C
B F 3;n C B 0 C 3;2 1 C 3;4 ⋯ 0 0 0 C The values presented in Tables 1 and 2 were substituted into Eq. (5)
B C B C
B F 4;n C B 0 0 0 1 ⋯ 0 0 0 C to calculate the elastic interaction stiffness between bolts. Furthermore,
B C B C
B F 5;n C ¼ B ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ C MATLAB was used to show the relationship between the elastic interac-
B C B C
B ⋮ C B0 0 0 0 ⋯ 1 0 0 C tion stiffness and different factors, as shown in Fig. 7. The elastic interac-
B C B C
@ F n−1;n A @ 0 0 0 0 ⋯ C n−1;n−2 1 C n−1;n A tion stiffness between bolts first decreases and then increases after the
F n;n 0 0 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 1 initial tightening torque of the bolts reached the same value, as shown
0 0 1 nn
F1 in Fig. 7(a). Therefore, a larger initial tightening torque should be ap-
B F0 C
B 2 C plied within the elastic range of the part. The elastic interaction stiffness
B 0 C
B F3 C essentially remains constant under different initial tightening torques
B 0 C
B C
 B F 40 C ð12Þ for bolt 2, as shown in Fig. 7(b). The results further validate those pre-
B F C sented by Wang et al. As the spacing between the bolt holes increases,
B 5 C
B ⋮ C the elastic interaction stiffness first increases and then decreases, as
B 0 C
@F A
n−1 shown in Fig. 7(c). The reason is that the tightened bolts rebounds
F 0n due to the high bending moment. In addition, based on this experiment,
the optimal spacing between bolt holes is 70 mm.
The elastic interaction stiffness under different material combina-
3. Analysis of elastic interaction stiffness tions is shown in Fig. 7(d). It can clearly be seen that the multi-bolted
joints comprised of high-strength materials have high elastic interaction
The residual preload of a bolt is related to the elastic interaction stiffness. A relative error of 85.18% between the elastic interaction stiff-
stiffness between tightened bolts. Therefore, factors influencing elastic ness of the multi-bolted joints composed of the high-strength material
interaction stiffness should be analyzed. The experimental setup and that composed of stainless steel is shown. The results of this study
consisted of connected parts with two holes, gasket, bolt, nut, load validate a number of models presented in the literature [29], and are
cell, amplifier, data acquisition card, power supply, data acquisition soft- consistent with other studies [34]. Therefore, high-strength bolt con-
ware, and digital torque wrench has been built, as shown in Fig. 5. 45 nection structures should be used to connect key parts of heavy ma-
steel plates with a thickness of 28 mm were used to manufacture the chine tools in the mechanical manufacturing field.
connected member. The hole-diameter was D, and the distance be-
tween bolt holes was L. The Young's modulus was 209 GPa. The bolt 4. Numerical analysis and experimental verification
specification was M16 × 80 mm and pitch was 2 mm. The thickness of
the gasket was 2 mm. Linearity of the ring pressure sensor was ±1%. Based on the tests, certain parameters of the proposed preload relax-
A digital torque wrench with a sensitivity of ±1% was used and a target ation model of a multi-bolted joint were obtained. However, errors
tightening torque was applied to the nut. The data acquisition card was caused by the tightening method will always be introduced and time
used to collect the data and an amplified pressure signal was input into cost increases. Therefore, to obtain more accurate data at the design
the data acquisition software to achieve real-time monitoring of preten- stage, a finite element analysis method is proposed. A flowchart of the
sion force. Based on the experimental system, the initial pretension numerical simulation and experimental validation process is presented
force F2 of bolt 2 and preload loss ΔF1, 2 of bolt 1 were obtained. in Fig. 8.
Additional parameters of Eq. (5), such as Young's modulus of the
bolt, cross sectional area, screw length, and spring stiffness, were listed 4.1. Numerical analysis
in Table 1.
A flowchart of the experimental procedure for studying the influ- Three-dimensional (3D) solid models of the LMBJ and AMBJ with
ence of initial tightening torque, spacing between bolt holes, and mate- either three and four bolts were established using SolidWorks, as
rial on the elastic interaction stiffness was presented in Fig. 6. shown in Fig. 9.
Four experiments were performed to analyze the elastic interaction The 3D models of the multi-bolted joints were imported into
stiffness. In experiments (1)–(3), the material of the bolt and nut was ABAQUS. The element type of the part was chosen as C3D20R.
52 Y. Li et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 160 (2019) 45–53

Fig. 10. Experimental verification of preload relaxation model under elastic interaction, (a) tightening sequence of LMBJ is 1-2-3-4, (b) tightening sequence of LMBJ is 1-3-2, (c) tightening
sequence of LMBJ is 1-3-2-4, (d) tightening sequence of AMBJ is 1-2-3-4, (e) tightening sequence of AMBJ is 1-3-2, (f) tightening sequence of AMBJ is 1-3-2-4.

Thermo-physical properties of the connected parts and bolt/nut were
set according to Table 3. A binding restraint was used between the
bolt and nut. Friction coefficients of all other surfaces were set to 0.25,
which corresponds to the surface roughness required by a milled sur-
face (0.9 μm) to prevent rigid motion between parts [35]. The initial
tightening torque of the bolt was set 30 Nm. The initial pretension
force of the bolt and changes in the preload of tightened bolts were ob-
tained and substituted into Eq. (4). Finally, the residual preload of the
bolt under elastic interaction was calculated.
4.2. Experimental validation
To verify the accuracy of the finite element model and preload relax-
ation model, test pieces were manufactured, as shown in Fig. 9. The data
acquisition system (Fig. 5) was used to obtain the residual preload of
bolts under elastic interaction. The initial tightening torque of the bolt
was set to 30 Nm. The material of the bolt and nut was A2–70 stainless
steel. The specification of a bolt was M16 × 80 mm, and pitch was 2 mm.
The gasket material was 201 stainless steel. The material of the
connected part was 45 steel and the thickness was 28 mm. The bolt-
hole diameter was 18 mm and spacing between bolt holes was
90 mm. The results of the numerical analysis and corresponding exper-
imental values are shown in Fig. 10. The letter ‘E' denotes ‘Experiment’
and ‘NA’ denotes ‘Numerical Analysis.’
Relative error values between the numerical analysis and experi-
mental results do not exceed 10%, as seen in Fig. 10. The error is mainly
due to error generated by the bolt tightening method. For the torque
method, error can be ±25%. Therefore, the proposed preload relaxation
model can effectively predict the preload distribution of a multi-bolted
joint.
 Y. Li et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 160 (2019) 45–53
5. Conclusions
The influence of preload relaxation caused by elastic interaction on
the dynamic performance of mechanical structures is very important.
Based on the results of this study, the conclusions can be summarized:
(1) Bolt arrangement within an engineering structure can be simpli-
fied to a linear distribution or annular distribution. Moreover, a
simplified mechanical model of a multi-bolted joint can be built
by introducing the ‘node-spring’ element. Based on Saint-
Venant's principle and deformation coordination equations,
the generalized mathematical model of the elastic interaction
stiffness and six types of preload relaxation were established
respectively. In addition，in order to obtain a uniform stress dis-
tribution, the proposed preload relaxation model can be used to
design the initial preload.
(2) The double-bolted joint can be used to investigate the effects of
initial tightening torque, spacing between bolt holes, and bolt/
gasket material on the elastic interaction stiffness. When the ini-
tial tightening torque is the same for both bolts, the elastic inter-
action stiffness first decreases and then increases, however, it
remains relatively constant when only the initial tightening
torque of bolt 2 is changed. Based on the experimental condi-
tions, optimal spacing between bolt holes is 70 mm. Moreover,
relative error was 85.18% between the elastic interaction stiffness
of the multi-bolted joints with high-strength gasket and high-
strength bolt versus multi-bolted joints with stainless steel gas-
ket and stainless steel bolt.
(3) The numerical analysis and theoretical model can be used to ob-
tain residual preload of bolts under elastic interaction. According
to the preload relaxation curve, theoretical calculations were
clearly consistent with experimental results and the maximum
relative error was less than 10%. In conclusion, the proposed pre-
load relaxation model and numerical simulation method can be
applied during the design phase to save on time and costs.
Acknowledgements
This research is supported by the National Natural Science Founda-
tion of China (No. 51575008, No. 51575009), Beijing Natural Science
Foundation (No. 3162003) and CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co.,
Ltd. (Name: Study on tightening torque attenuation characteristics
and application of bolt in rail transit equipment).
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