Finite element analysis of bolted joint subjected to impact loading

Abstract

Mechanical components are commonly fastened together through bolts. Many times, they are subjected to impact loads in use. The behavior of the joints under these conditions should be known in a design process. The objective of this study is to develop finite element models of bolted joints under impact loading. First, a three dimensional finite element model for a bolted joint was developed in order to simulate its behavior under impact loading. With this full modeling, the aim was to simulate the physics of the impact event as accurately as possible without giving any concern on computational cost. In the design of mechanical structures containing numerous fastening elements, use of full models is not practicable, because the computational cost of the analysis dramatically increases with increased number of complex interacting parts. Instead, simplified models accounting for only dominating effects should be utilized such that analysis time can significantly be reduced without sacrificing from the accuracy. Accordingly, a number of simplified finite element bolt models were developed and then compared with the full model regarding the solution accuracy and computational cost for different loading cases to determine the most representative and cost effective simplified model.