Technical Paper
A Study to Predict Fatigue Limits of Bolted Joints under Transverse Vibration
2010-04-12
2010-01-0964
Fatigue failure of bolted joints is a very serious problem for vehicles that are subjected to vibration loading. Fatigue characteristics of bolted joints under transverse vibration have been investigated in our previous study. According to the results, apparent fatigue limits (the highest amplitude of transverse vibration force which can be applied to the bolted joint without generating fatigue) differ significantly according to tightening conditions although real fatigue limits of bolts are the same if the property classes are the same. The difference in apparent fatigue limits is due to changes in distribution of bending moment applying to the bolt due to tightening conditions such as grip length and engaged thread length. In this study, the relationship between the apparent fatigue limit and the real fatigue limit has been experimentally revealed and a method to predict the apparent fatigue limit using the real fatigue limit has been developed.