Design Influences on Self-loosening Behaviour of Multi-bolted Joint

Most studies on self-loosening behaviour of bolted joints under relative transverse movement of the clamped parts are limited to a single bolt joint. In this paper a comprehensive assessment is performed for the loosening behaviour of a multi-bolted joint with two bolts. Design influences such as material of clamped part and geometrical distance between bolts are investigated experimentally and using three dimensional finite element analysis. The importance of studying the component influence on self-loosening behaviour is highlighted using different cross sections of the clamped part. Influence of component deformation behaviour on self-loosening behaviour of the bolts are illustrated by experimental and simulation results. Risks of decomposing a multi-bolted joint into a single bolt joint for experimental investigation, such as in Junker’s test are highlighted. Emphasis is placed on simulation based assessment of self-loosening behaviour for multi-bolted joints as this is a cost effective choice at the design phase of components.