Comparative Study on the Strength Calculation Method for Pumped-Storage Power Plant Head-Cover-to-Stay-Ring Bolts and on Relevant Preload and Strength Standards

Head-cover-to-stay-ring bolts in pumped-storage plants face fatigue fracture risks due to axial alternating loads, with catastrophic failure cases reported globally. In China, the absence of a unified design code in early projects produced widely divergent bolt designs. This study proposes a hybrid “field measurement and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) correction” method to analyze bolt forces under turbine load-rejection transients (max. stress: 780 MPa, error <3.1%), benchmarks three Chinese standards (GB/T 22581-2024, NB/T 10135-2019, GB/T 15468-2020) for preload design, and refines their technical clauses to provide actionable guidance for future tender specifications and long-term bolt maintenance.