Engineering Failure Analysis 18 (2011) 21882200

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Engineering Failure Analysis

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Avoiding self-loosening failure of bolted joints with numerical assessment of local contact state
G. Dinger , C. Friedrich
University of Siegen, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Engineering Design MVP, Paul-Bonatz-Str. 9-11, D 57076 Siegen, Germany

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
Fatigue and rotational self-loosening are two most widespread reasons for failure of dynamically loaded bolted joints, especially due to external loading perpendicular to the bolt axis (transverse loading). More and more component systems show self-loosening in light weight design. The aim of this paper is to provide a numerical design method with nite element analysis for detecting and understanding of the self-loosening process at bolted joints and the inuences of the preload generation for the residual shank torque in the numerical simulation. A three-dimensional nite element (FE) model is established to study details of the rotational self-loosening process. Such processes are characterized by either complete or localized slip at the screw head and thread contact surfaces. Detailed information is given about the modelling. The computational results of the numerical simulation are compared with experimental investigations of the cyclic transverse loaddisplacement behaviour. These show that rotational self-loosening can also occur for only localized slip without complete slipping at the head contact surface. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 10 June 2011 Received in revised form 11 July 2011 Accepted 13 July 2011 Available online 23 July 2011 Keywords: Finite element analysis Joint failures Threaded fasteners Self-loosening Localized slip

1. Introduction and background Bolted joints are widely used in mechanical products and structures due to their possibility for easy disassembly and their relatively low cost [1,15]. Fatigue and rotational self-loosening are the two most widespread reasons of failures during operation. Whereas the mechanism for failure in fatigue or preload relaxation of a bolted joint can be analysed with the help of analytic guidelines [1,2] and design tools [11], no established and veried design method exists in case of preload loss caused by rotational self-loosening of the screw. Since nearly 60 years research on loosening of threaded fasteners is performed [4]. Many studies are based on the studies by Junker [3] in the late 1960s and the vibration test apparatus developed by Junker which is also used in DIN 65151 [5]. In contrast to the classical theory that loosening starts with the transverse complete slip of the bolt head surface, Pai and Hess [6,7], Izumi et al. [8] and Koch et al. [9] showed that critical slight loosening appears prior to the bolt head slip. These studies are performed experimentally or with numerical simulations of the vibration test setup (no friction between clamped parts). Pai and Hess [6] been the rst authors who identied that a fastener could turn loose under dynamic shear loading only due to the accumulation of localized slip at the fastener contact surfaces and introduced the term localized slip for the self-loosening process. In this paper a real fastened component system (friction between clamped parts) is used for the further understanding of localized or complete slip at the fastener contact surfaces. Also additional performance variables are dened.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 271 740 4399; fax: +49 271 740 2568.
E-mail address: georg.dinger@uni-siegen.de (G. Dinger). 1350-6307/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2011.07.012

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For additional details of the loosening process, the reader is referred to Koch et al. [9]. A comprehensive review of the literature is given by Bickford [10] and Sakai [13]. A bibliographical review of nite element methods for the analysis of fastening and joining is given by Mackerle [14]. The focus in this paper is directed to the evolution of residual shank torque for loosening after preload generation and loading and the self-loosening behaviour of a real threaded connection due to complete or localized slip at the fastener surfaces. In contrast to the vibration test setup the real threaded connection shows friction force between the clamped parts. Such component systems can be found at bolted clutches, brake callipers, connections of steel constructions, bolted ywheels and in wheel suspensions of cars. The increase of the nonlinear behaviour, by the frictional contact between the clamped parts, leads to signicant efforts for the simulation and experimental study of real dynamic loaded threaded fastener systems. The fastener geometry, stiffness, geometrical tolerances and contact with friction are the most important factors that inuence slip and the resulting self-loosening behaviour of the screw.

2. Simulation With the aim of developing a general simulation method for rotational self-loosening of screws all important inuences for the self-loosening mechanism have to be considered in the numerical simulation. A three-dimensional nite element (FE) model is established for detection and understanding of self-loosening at bolted joints and the inuences of the preload generation for the residual shank torque.

2.1. Model description The general purpose nite element analysis software Abaqus/Standard 6.9.1 has been used to model a real threaded connection with component interface. The geometry is simplied to include only the essential parts of the assembly (Fig. 1). The movable clamped part is sinusoidal moved in x-direction and the nut thread component remains xed. The geometry of the modelled screw with external hexagon drive and plain support type is given by DIN 6921 M10 60 10.9. The three-dimensional helical thread geometry is based on ISO 965 and DIN 13 including the tolerances given for 6 g/6 H (centre values used). The helix of the thread (P = 1.5 mm) is attached to the bolt shank and the nut thread component using tie constraints between the surfaces to minimize the number of elements in the shank and the nut thread. The thread anks need a ner mesh to increase the simulation accuracy of the contact state and to minimize stiffness problems due to locking behaviour. Full integrated hexahedral eight node elements (C3D8) were used for the thread anks and reduced integrated hexahedral eight node elements (C3D8R) for the remaining parts. The mesh density was checked by convergence tests and comparison with analytical calculations of the axial stiffness of the fastener system according to VDI 2230 [2]. All the analysis in this study does not aim to obtain detailed stress distribution, but understanding of the mechanical mechanism based of rotational self-loosening. Therefore, the curvature of the thread root and the radius of the head shank-transition are not taken into account. The bearing surface angle is modelled according to DIN 6921 with e = 0.75 (Fig. 2). The preload Fp is restricted to 25 kN (elastic range) to avoid the inuence of large-volume yielding at the screw. The elasticplastic behaviour of screw steel (property class 10.9) was determined in tension tests according to DIN 50125 B 5 25. Elastic material behaviour was assumed for the nitrided steel parts (moveable clamped part and nut thread component). Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio are 210 GPa and 0.3, respectively, for all steel materials. Further description of the threaded component system, the contact surfaces and boundary conditions of the model are given in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 1. Three-dimensional nite element model with component interface for simulation of preload generation and self-loosening.

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cross section of screw head model characteristics: - software: Abaqus/Standard 6.9.1 - material: steel - elements:C3D8R, C3D8 82434 elements - contact: surface to surface pressure-overclosure: hard contact normal behaviour: Penalty tangential behaviour: Penalty critical slip: crit = 0.0004 h = 0.15 t = 0.2 c = 0.13 - screw: DIN 6921 M10 x 60 - 10.9 pitch P = 1.5 mm me = 1.2 . d thread tolerance: centre of 6g/6H

cross section of thread

y x

= 0.75

- clamped clamp lengh lc = 40 mm part: diameter of bore dh = 12 mm

Fig. 2. Cross section of screw head and thread contact as well as model characteristics.

The nut thread component was restrained in the x, y and z directions at the surface marked in Fig. 1. For anchoring the clamped part, the plate was restrained at the reference point RP1 (Fig. 1) so that it could not move in any other direction than the direction in which it was displaced. For the self-loosening simulation the reference point RP1 is moved in x direction sinusoidal. A second reference point (RP2) is connected to the bolt head to estimate the displacement of the bolt head srad and the rotational angle #h. The screw was initially restrained in the x and z directions at RP2 so that it could not move in order to position it when the bolt preload was generated (this restraint was removed during simulation of the self-loosening behaviour). The preload Fp = 25 kN is generated through a pre-tension section created in the bolt shank or by a rotation angle at RP2 (chapter 3). The vibration frequency in the experiment is 0.5 Hz, compared to the eigenfrequency the system can be treated as a quasi-static process.

2.2. Contact formulation Contact modelling is of great importance for self-loosening simulation because of the effects associated with local stick slip behaviour of the contact surfaces. The most common algorithms for solving contact problems are the penalty approach and the method of Lagrangian multipliers. Other procedures, such as a combined method called the augmented Lagrangian technique and the perturbed Lagrangian method can also be applied. The contact condition is not fullled exactly in the penalty approach. In contrast to the penalty formulation, the Lagrangian multipliers method ensures exact satisfaction of the required contact constraints. The multipliers can be interpreted as contact forces. However, it increases the number of variables in the numeric simulation with the introduction of Lagrange multipliers. The surface constraint approach used in these studies is a masterslave, nite sliding, surface-to-surface assignment. The contact normal behaviour was modelled with a penalty approach. Friction based tangential contact is considered at the bolt head surface, thread anks and the interface between clamped part and nut thread component. The friction coefcients for grease lubricated contacts at screw head lh and the thread anks lt were measured on a multi-channel assembly test stand for screw assemblies (similar to DIN EN ISO 16047 [12]) with identical screw, clamped part and nut thread component as being used for the vibration test. The friction coefcient of interface lc was determined directly in the vibration test setup. The standard isotropic Coulomb law of friction assumes that no relative motion occurs if the frictional shear stress s is less than the critical stress scirt which is proportional to the contact pressure p, i.e. scirt = l . p, where l is the related coefcient of friction (Fig. 3). This nonlinear behaviour of sticking and slipping in the absence of slip can be made exactly zero with the use of a Lagrange multiplier formulation. This procedure seems to be attractive because of the exact sticking condition for self-loosening simulations. Disadvantages are the increase in analysis cost due to additional Lagrange multipliers; the presence of rigid constraints tends to slow or sometimes prevent convergence of the Newton solution technique used in Abaqus/Standard. This is likely to occur in contact areas where the contact status changes. In the penalty formulation of Coulomb friction, the condition of no relative sliding motion is approximated with a stiff elastic behaviour as shown in the Fig. 3. Therefore, a small amount of elastic slip |cel| 6 ccrit is permitted although there

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Fig. 3. Frictional tangential behaviour between two contacting bodies for the penalty and Lagrange method.

should be no slipping at all. The elastic slip is related to the frictional shear stress through the relation si kp cel i for i = 1, 2 (sliding directions in three-dimensional problem). The inuence of the penalty stiffness kp, concerning the rotational selfloosening, has been discovered in previous studies [9]. All tangential contacts in the numerical simulations use the penalty method with a critical slip ccrit = 0.0004 to avoid unrealistic rotation angles of the screw. 3. Residual shank torque as origin for self-loosening This chapter discusses the inuences of three different methods of preload generation in the numerical simulation for self-loosening. The difference in rotation angle between screw head #h and screw end #t describes the twisting of the screw shank. The calculated residual shank torque for self-loosening Tre is associated with this twisting deformation. The analytical relation between total tightening torque Ttot and preload Fp is well-known (Eq. (1)). During operating the residual shank torque Tre changes asymptotically from the sum of Tt_pitch and Tt_friction directly after tightening to Tt_pitch.

T tot T t

pitch

Tt

friction

Th dkm l 2 h for metric thread profile and plain head support area

T tot F p 0:159 P F p 0:577 d2 lt F p

where Ttot is the total tightening torque, Tt_pitch the screw thread torque due to thread pitch, Tt_friction the screw thread torque due to friction, Th the head torque, Tre the residual shank torque, Fp the preload, P the thread pitch, d2 the pitch diameter of screw thread, dKm the equivalent friction diameter under the screw head, lt the friction coefcient of thread contact and lh is the friction coefcient of head contact. In this example:

dKm 19:55 mm for F p 25 kN;

d2 8:93 mm; F p 25 kN; P 1:5 mm; 19:55 mm 0:15 2

lt 0:2; lh 0:15

T tot 25 kN 0:159 1:5 0:577 8:93 mm 0:2

T tot 5:96 Nm 25:76 Nm 36:64 Nm 68:36 Nm

Analysed methods of preload generation in simulation: V1: Axial preload generation with pre-tension function; with thread friction lt = 0.2. V2: Axial preload generation with pre-tension function; without thread friction lt = 0.0 by preload generation (Steps 1 and 2). V3: Rotational assembling by turning the screw head (Step 2); with thread friction lt = 0.2. The tightening preload Fp = 25 kN is generated through a pre-tension section (axial elongation) created in the bolt shank for version V1 and V2. In the rst step the adjustments of the pre-tensioning is used for closing all contacts. In the second

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step the length of the bolt is automatically adjusted at the pre-tension section to achieve the prescribed amount of pre-tension. The related length changing is xed for further steps. The state of equilibrium is calculated in Step 3 for the self-loosening simulation in the further steps. In contrast to this a real tightening process with a tightening angle instead of the pretension section is used for version V3. The equivalent friction diameter under the head dKm is also determined by simulation results from version V3 and Eq. (2) for the analytical calculation of Eq. (1). With increasing preload Fp the equivalent friction diameter dKm decreases due to elastic bearing surface deformation of the screw head (bearing surface angle is shown in Fig. 2).

dkm

2 Th F p lh

For example:

dkm

2 13:51 Nm 19:73 mm 9:13 kN 0:15 2 36:64 Nm 19:55 mm 24:98 kN 0:15

dkm

The resulting preload and the angle at screw head and end for version V1, V2 and V3 for a transverse displacement sQmax = 0.55 mm show Figs. 4 and 5. The corresponding residual shank torque for self-loosening Tre after preload generation and transverse load cycles for three different transverse displacements sQmax is shown in Figs. 68, respectively, for version V1, V2 and V3.

V1

V2

V3
Fp

27000 26500

Preload Fp [N]

26000 25500 25000

gh ou thr d d n loa e re rew n p t sc i e a as p re e n u c in ht tig

decr lo of sh b ank uildup ad torqu e 24000 ea 24500 throughse in pre

3 4 5 6 7

Step [-]
Fig. 4. Simulation of preload Fp for version V1, V2 and V3; transverse displacement sQmax = 0.55 mm; only rst four load cycles are visualised.

(a)
0,35 0,3 0,25

V1_screw head h V2_screw head h

V1_screw end t V2_screw end t

(b)
0,2 0 -0,2
3

V3_screw head h

V3_screw end t

without tightening angles

4 5 6 7

Angle []

0,2 0,15 0,1 0,05 0 3

difference results in Tt_pitch= 5.96 Nm

Angle []

-0,4 -0,6 -0,8 -1 -1,2 -1,4

tighten up angle at screw end t

loosening angle Lh

difference is based on Tt_friction= 25.75 Nm

Step [-]

Step [-]
Fig. 5. Simulation of rotation angle at screw head #h and end #t for version V1, V2 and V3; transverse displacement sQmax = 0.55 mm; only rst four load cycles are visualised.

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An increase in preload (Fig. 4) and a tighten up angle (Fig. 5b) at the screw end #t (angle at the screw head #h remain constant) is observed for assembling by turning the screw head (V3). The difference in rotation angles after tightening between screw head #h and screw end #t (Fig. 5b) describes the twisting of the screw shank due to the screw thread torque Tt (Fig. 8). The screw thread friction torque Tt_friction decreases after a few load cycles (Fig. 5b); the gradient of decrease depends on the transverse displacement sQmax (Fig. 8). If the pre-tension function is used for preload generation, the preload decreases for preload generation with thread friction lt (V1) and remains constant without thread friction V2 (Fig. 4). The difference in rotation angle is equal to the screw thread torque due to the screw thread pitch Tt_pitch after preload generation for version V2 (Fig. 5a). The build-up of the residual shank torque Tre for V1 (Fig. 6) results in a decrease in preload (Fig. 4) due to an increase of the angle at the screw end #t (Fig. 5a) for repeated transverse loading. A signicant self-loosening angle at screw head is observed for the transverse displacement sQmax = 0.55 mm (Fig. 5a). With the assessment (constant self-loosening at screw head #Lh > 0.01 per load cycle) from [9], this displacement is equal to the critical displacement scrit (localized head slipping) described in chapter 4. On the other hand, entire slip at screw head contact surface (sQmax = 0.9 mm) induces a large self-loosening angle (0.38 per load cycle) and a large decrease in preload Fp (Figs. 68). Once the entire screw head surface slips, the torsion in the bolt shank is reduced for each half cycle (sQmax = 0.9 in Figs. 68). This effect is enlarged for smaller preloads or by clamp load loss due to self-loosening. The residual shank torque Tre takes an asymptotic increase towards the thread pitch torque Tt_pitch, when the deection of the sinusoidal displacement changes, through the self-loosening of the screw thread. The head loosening angle #Lh shows nearly a step increase when complete slip at the bearing surface occurs, while the thread angle #Lt increases more gradually. The thread angle is leading the head angle; this is expected since the entire residual shank torque Tre is developed by the thread pitch.

sQmax = 0.30

sQmax = 0.55

sQmax = 0.90

Tt_pitch

Residual shank torque Tre [Nm]

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tre

sQ sQmax

due to d

ecrease of preloa d

Step [-]
Fig. 6. V1: Development of residual shank torque during self-loosening Tre after preload generation and three transverse displacements sQmax; analytical calculation of Tt_pitch with constant preload Fp = 25 kN.

sQmax = 0.30

sQmax = 0.55

sQmax = 0.90

Tt_pitch

Residual shank torque Tre [Nm]]

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Tre
0 3 4

sQ sQmax
5 6

due to decr ea

se of preloa
9

d
10

Step [-]
Fig. 7. V2: Development of residual shank torque during self-loosening Tre after preload generation and three transverse displacements sQmax; analytical calculation of Tt_pitch with constant preload Fp = 25 kN.

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sQmax = 0.30

sQmax = 0.55

sQmax = 0.90

Tt_pitch

Residual shank torque T re [Nm]

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Tt=Tt_pitch+Tt_friction= 31.72 Nm
Tre

Step [-]
Fig. 8. V3: Development of residual shank torque during self-loosening Tre after tightening and three transverse displacements sQmax; analytical calculation of Tt_pitch with constant preload Fp = 25 kN.

The build-up (V1) or decrease (V3) of residual shank torque Tre is inuenced by the method of preload generation in the numerical simulation and the transverse displacement sQmax. For displacements less than the critical displacement scrit (in this example sQmax = 0.55 mm) it takes over 7 (sQmax = 0.3 mm) load cycles until the residual shank torque Tre has converged. The converged residual shank torque Tre which is necessary for the self-loosening simulation is available in version V2 after preload generation. This saves analysis cost and therefore is used for the following self-loosening simulations. It is acceptable to skip the real tightening process (V3) for self-loosening simulations. The understanding and proper illustration of the residual shank torque in the numerical simulation is important for self-loosening simulations. 4. Determination of local contact state In experimental studies for fasteners under transverse load only phenomenological results by analysing the self-loosening angle #L can be obtained. For the understanding of self-loosening with numerical simulations the classication of slip at the fastener surfaces can be classied in complete slip when the entire contact surface at the head or thread slides or localized slip when only partitions of the contact surface slide as suggested by Pai and Hess [6]. If the loads acting on the screw are sufciently large to overcome friction over the entire contact surface, complete slip will occur. Before the entire contact surface starts complete slipping, localized slip occurs in partitions of the contact surface where the localized friction force has been overcome. The slip state is inuenced by the residual shank torque Tre (chapter 3), transverse displacement sQ, other external loads, fastener geometry, stiffness, contact and friction conditions. In the numerical simulation only a few load cycles are computed and very small calculated self-loosening angle in the numerical simulation still leads to no self-loosening angle in experiment. Koch et al. [9] dened in his work with the Junker test setup a critical displacement scrit (displacement of the moveable top part) for the simulation and experiment at which signicant self-loosening angle can be detected for localized head slipping. The maximum displacement smax (in this study smax = sQmax = 0.86 mm) denes the maximum displacement of the screw head (entire slip at screw head contact surface). The risk for rotational self-loosening already starts when the critical displacement scrit (in this study scrit = sQmax = 0.55 mm; Fig. 5a) is reached, which differs signicantly from the maximum displacement smax. For additional details to the critical displacement scrit, the reader is referred to Koch et al. [9]. In this paper a real fastener system is used for further understanding of localized slip and complete slip at the fastener contact surfaces. Also additional a local key gure gn and global key gures for the entire contact gC and kC to characterise the contact situation and for understanding of the self-loosening due to localized slip are dened. The utilization of transferable friction force to normal force and friction coefcient per contact node gn of the contact surface (Eq. (3)) allows the evaluation of the ratio from almost sliding local (nite) contact areas, slipping contact areas and areas without contact. This is a useful qualitative extension to the pure observation of sticking, slipping and no contact from [7,8].

gn

F shear n s 100 100 % F normal n l pl

where gn = 0%, represent no contact; 0% < gn < 100%, represent stick at contact node; gn = 100%, represent slip at contact node; Fshear_n the magnitude of frictional shear force per contact node; Fnormal_n the magnitude of contact normal force per contact node; s the shear stress; p the contact pressure and l is the friction coefcient.

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The ratio of the transferable friction force to normal force and friction coefcient per contact surface at the screw head or thread denes the variable gC (Eq. (4)) for every increment.
N total P

F shear

gC

n0 N total P n0

100 %

F normal n l

where Ntotal is the total number of nodes in contact (Fnormal_n > 0; p > 0) at contact surface (head or thread). kC denes the ratio of sticking contact area to slipping contact area at the screw head or thread surface (Eq. (5)) for every increment.
N stick P n0 kC N total P n0

An 100 % An 5

where Nstick is the number of sticking nodes at contact surface (head or thread), Ntotal the total number of nodes in contact (Fnormal_n > 0; p > 0) at contact surface (head or thread) and An is the nodal contact area. The evaluation of the key gures for every increment of the simulation is carried out with a self-developed python program for Abaqus, and can therefore easily be applied to other self-loosening problems. Below, these performance variables gn, gC and kC are applied to different loading states of the real fastening system. The utilization of transferable friction force to normal force and friction coefcient per contact node gn at the screw head and thread for three transverse displacements sQmax show Figs. 9 and 10 from the second transverse load cycle (Steps 45). Due to different localized or complete slipping at the screw contact surfaces in the rst load cycle (Steps 34) differ the values (FQ, Fp, Tre, kC, gC and A) and contour plots (gn) in the second load cycle for the same transverse displacements sQ, as it can be seen in Figs. 9 and 10. Increasing transverse displacement sQ leads to bending and tilting of the screw. This creates an unsymmetrical contact state with an increase of the head contact area Ah and a decrease of the thread contact area At. For the critical displacement scrit (sQmax = 0.55 mm) only kCh = 19% of the head surface is sticking (81% slipping) and the complete thread surface is already slipping (kct = 0%). The utilization of transferable friction force to normal force and friction coefcient at the head surface is very high (gCh = 92%), even for the sticking areas (kCh = 19%) which is shown by the local key gure gn. A fastener can show self-loosening under dynamic transverse loading due to the accumulation of localized slip at the fastener contact surfaces. Head contact regions that stick during the rst period of cyclic loading, slip during the second period. This enables the entire head contact to slip over a complete cycle. The phenomenon of localized slip at the partitions of the screw head surface from the right dead point to the left dead point, leads to small self-loosening angle. The sticking region at the left dead point transforms into a slip region at the right dead point, the resultant cyclic variation in contact and deformation states induce a small turn angle. The accumulation of this small angle at the screw head will induce the decrease in preload, which nally results in the transverse complete screw head slip after various cycles. Self-loosening due to localized slip is critical since it can occur at a signicantly lower transverse load FQ or transverse displacement sQ than that required for complete slip. As expected entire slip at the screw head contact surface is observed for the transverse displacement sQmax = 0.90. Complete slip at the thread surface (Fig. 10) occurs for all three transverse displacements sQmax. This does not necessarily lead to a self-loosening of the screw; however the slipping affects the evolution of the residual shank torque Tre. The ratio of the transferable friction force to normal force and friction coefcient for the thread contact surface gCt is always greater than 70% if the real fastener connection is transverse loaded. The magnitude of the transverse force FQ is the sum of the transverse load acting at the bolt head FQ_head and the force at the interface between the moveable clamped part and the nut thread component FQ_interface (Eq. (6)).

FQ FQ

head

FQ

interface

where FQ is the transverse load, FQ_head the transverse load acting at the bolt head and FQ_interface is the transverse load acting at the contact interface. As expected the total transverse force at the bolt head FQ_head, where complete sliding at the head support area begins, can be derived from the sum of nodal shear forces Fshear_n (Eq. (7)).

FQ

head

N total X n0

F shear

N total X n0

! F normal
n

lh

Consider that immediately before reaching this force already slipping in the largest part of the head contact area takes place (can be seen in Fig. 9). When the transverse load at the bolt head reaches Eq. (7) it shows not a transition from sticking

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FQ = Transverse load Fp = Preload Tre = Residual shank torque Ch= Ratio of the transferable friction force to normal force and friction coefficient per contact surface at the screw head surface Ch= Ratio of sticking contact area to slipping contact area at the screw head surface Ah = Head contact surface

sQ(t) = sQmax.sin(.t) sQmax=0.9

sQmax=0.55 sQmax=0.3 4

= = = =

0.0 mm 0.3 mm 0.55 mm 0.9 mm

n [%]
slip

stick 5 Step no contact

sQmax = 0.3 mm
no contact

sQmax = 0.55 mm
slip

sQmax = 0.9 mm
slip

sQ = 0.0 mm

stick
direction of transverse displacement sQ

stick FQ = 2825 N Fp = 24746 N Tre = 5.75 Nm Ch = 52 % z Ch = 98 % Ah = 63.3 mm

Tre

z x

FQ = 3438 N Fp = 24678 N Tre = 5.32 Nm Ch = 57 % z Ch = 66 % Ah = 63.3 mm

FQ = 3625 N Fp = 23892 N Tre = 4.14 Nm Ch = 91 % Ch = 14 % Ah = 60.8 mm

sQ = 0.3 mm

FQ = 4422 N Fp = 24987 N Tre = 5.72 Nm Ch = 84 % Ch = 52 % Ah = 59.7 mm

FQ = 4313 N Fp = 24751 N Tre = 5.39 Nm Ch = 77 % Ch = 44 % Ah = 59.7 mm

FQ = 4514 N Fp = 24093 N Tre = 4.69 Nm Ch = 92 % Ch = 21 % Ah = 59.1 mm

sQ = 0.55 mm

FQ = 5304 N Fp = 25208 N Tre = 5.41 Nm Ch = 92 % Ch = 19 % Ah = 65.8 mm

FQ = 5325 N Fp = 24556 N Tre = 4.93 Nm Ch = 95 % Ch = 17 % Ah = 64.5 mm

unsymmetrical contact state; increase in contact area complete surface is slipping bending of shank FQ = 6277 N Fp = 25470 N Tre = 2.39 Nm Ch = 100 % Ch = 0.0 % Ah = 69.7 mm

Fig. 9. Utilization of transferable friction force to normal force and friction coefcient per contact node gn at the screw head for three transverse displacements sQmax for the second load cycle (deformed visualisation, screw displayed without thread).

to slipping but a transition from localized slip to complete sliding. Even if no self-loosening occurs for periodic transverse displacement less than the critical displacement scrit material is worn in areas with localized slip (head-, thread- and interface contact). This phenomenon is known as fretting. This leads to a reduced preload by increasing periodic loading and the friction coefcient can change.

sQ = 0.9 mm

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n [%]
FQ = Transverse load Fp = Preload Tre = Residual shank torque Ct= Ratio of the transferable friction force to normal force and friction coefficient per contact surface at the screw thread surface Ct= Ratio of sticking contact area to slipping contact area at the screw thread surface At = Thread contact surface
slip

stick

no contact

sQmax = 0.3 mm
FQ = 2825 N Fp = 24746 N Tre = 5.75 Nm Ct = 91 % Ct = 43 % At = 151.8 mm
dir tra ectio dis nsve n of pla rse cem ent

sQmax = 0.55 mm
FQ = 3438 N Fp = 24678 N Tre = 5.32 Nm Ct = 98 % Ct = 2 % At = 132.6 mm
slip

sQmax = 0.9 mm
FQ = 3625 N Fp = 23892 N Tre = 4.14 Nm Ct = 100 % Ct = 0.0 % At = 146.8 mm thread engagement complete surface is slipping

sQ = 0.0 mm

no contact
sQ
stick

y z x z

y x z

y x

sQ = 0.3 mm

FQ = 4422 N Fp = 24987 N Tre = 5.72 Nm Ct = 100 % Ct = 0.0 % At = 151.0 mm

FQ = 4313 N Fp = 24751 N Tre = 5.39 Nm Ct = 100 % Ct = 0.0 % At = 150.6 mm complete surface is slipping

FQ = 4514 N Fp = 24093 N Tre = 4.69 Nm Ct = 100 % Ct = 0.0 % At = 136.4 mm

complete surface is slipping

sQ = 0.55 mm

FQ = 5304 N Fp = 25208 N Tre = 5.41 Nm Ct = 100 % Ct = 0.0 % At = 114.0 mm

FQ = 5325 N Fp = 24556 N Tre = 4.93 Nm Ct = 100 % Ct = 0.0 % At = 105.3 mm

sQ = 0.9 mm

FQ = 6277 N Fp = 25470 N Tre = 2.39 Nm Ct = 100 % Ct = 0.0 % At = 74.0 mm unsymmetrical contact state due to bending; decrease in contact area

Fig. 10. Utilization of transferable friction force to normal force and friction coefcient per contact node gn at the screw thread for three transverse displacements sQmax for the second load cycle (undeformed visualisation, thread displayed without screw shank).

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The self-loosening is inuenced by several factors and the behaviour is a result of their non-linear interactions. The numerical simulation includes the primary factors that cause loosening and provides a useful method for analysing details of fastener loosening.

5. Verication of simulation results The simulated mechanical behaviour of the real threaded connection including friction at the contact interface is veried with experimental results. The real threaded connection is given by Fig. 11; it consists of the components described in Fig. 1. The clamped part is sinusoidal moved with a servo-hydraulic cylinder and the transverse force FQ, displacement of screw head srad and the self-loosening angle of the screw head #Lh are measured. An ultrasonic axial tension gauge is used for measuring of the preload Fp = 25 kN during tightening and after operation. The transverse loaddisplacement behaviour is inuenced by the stiffness of the different parts, contact conditions, friction coefcient, dimensional tolerances and self-loosening behaviour. The diagram in Fig. 12 compares the hysteresis curves

contact interface c

measurement of loosening angle Lh measurement of screw head displacement srad

sQ(t) = s Qmax.sin(.t); FQ

nut thread component

screw

moveable clamped part

Fig. 11. Experimental test setup for a real threaded connection with interface contact between clamped part and nut thread component.

Simulation- sQmax=0.30 Experimental - sQmax=0.30

Simulation - sQmax=0.55 Experimental - sQmax=0.55 8000

Simulation - sQmax=0.90 Experimental - sQmax=0.90

sQ sQmax a
Transverse force FQ [N]

b e c d

6000

b b

4000 2000 0

-1

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2 -2000 -4000

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

d d d
-6000

complete slip under screw head

-8000

Transverse displacement s Q [mm]

Fig. 12. Verication of transverse loaddisplacement-functions for three different displacements sQmax.

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between simulation (continuous line) and measurement (discontinuous line). In the diagram different displacements (sQmax = 0.30/0.55/0.90 mm) are drawn. They are matching very well and show point of gradient change when complete slip at the screw head surface occurs. The simulation of the transverse behaviour including friction at the contact interface reproduces the real behaviour in a good approximation when including a detailed modelling of the contact conditions. 6. Discussion and conclusions The preload generation and self-loosening process of a real fastener connection with component interface was investigated by a three-dimensional FE model and with experiments for verication. The results show that local contact state varies signicantly dependent on system parameters and load prole. Important is the exact knowledge of the residual shank torque Tre for self-loosening simulations. The following results are shown: 1. The numerical simulation of the transverse behaviour shows close agreement to the experimental observed behaviour. 2. The self-loosening rate by localized slip is fairly low and increases as the loosening transitions from localized to complete slip at the screw head surface takes place. 3. The build-up (V1) or decrease (V3) of residual shank torque Tre and the preload evolution are inuenced by the method of preload generation in the numerical simulation and the transverse displacement sQmax. For displacements smaller than the critical displacement scrit (sQmax = 0.55 mm) it takes over 7 (sQmax = 0.3 mm) load cycles until the residual shank torque Tre has converged. 4. The converged residual shank torque Tre which is decisive for the self-loosening simulation is available in version V2 instantaneous after preload generation. This saves analysis time and cost. 5. The residual shank torque Tre remains unchanged for self-loosening that occurs prior to complete slip at the head surface. 6. A new local key gure gn and global key gures for the entire contact gC and kC to characterise the contact situation and for understanding of the self-loosening due to localized slip are dened and introduced. 7. For the critical displacement scrit (sQmax = 0.55 mm) only kCh = 19% of the head surface is sticking and the complete thread surface is already slipping (kCt = 0%). The utilization of the head surface is very high (gCh = 92%), even for the sticking areas which is shown by the local key gure gn. 8. Complete slip at the thread surface (Fig. 10) occurs for all three transverse displacements sQmax. This does not necessarily lead to a self-loosening of the screw; however the slipping affects the evolution of the residual shank torque Tre. Linking these results with simulations and experience form self-loosening, following conclusions can be drawn:The converged residual shank torque Tre is necessary for the self-loosening numerical simulation and is inuenced by the method of preload generation. Self-loosening is initiated when complete thread slip is achieved and localized slip at the screw head surface takes place. Self-loosening caused by localized slip occurs at signicantly lower transverse displacements than self-loosening caused by complete screw head slip. Failure behaviour due to self-loosening can be theoretical predicted with the new introduced key gures which characterise the contact situation. The common consideration for analysing the risk of self-loosening by quantifying the maximum transverse displacement smax (complete slip) of the screw head is an inadvisable method. So, considering no localized slip can lead to insufcient safety against self-loosening. In future, investigations due to multi-screws-connections are in progress [16]. Appendix A. Supplementary material Supplementary video data associated with this article for the visualisation of the self-loosening prozess of the real threaded connection including friction at the contact interface can be found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2011.07.012. Video (1) shows the self-loosening prozess due to lokalized slip at the head surface (sQmax = 0.55 mm) and video (2) shows the self-loosening prozess due to complete slip at the head surface (sQmax = 0.9 mm). References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Kloos K-H, Thomala W. Schraubenverbindungen Grundlagen, Berechnung, Eigenschaften, Handhabung. 5th ed. Berlin: Springer; 2007. VDI 2230. Schraubenverbindungen: Berechnung Gestaltung Anwendung, Berlin: Beuth; 2003. Junker GH. New criteria for self-loosening of fasteners under vibration. Soc Automot Eng 1969:31435. Goodier JN, Sweeney RJ. Loosening by vibration of threaded fastenings. Mech Eng 1945;12:798802. DIN 65151. Dynamische Prfung des Sicherungsverhaltens von Schraubenverbindungen unter Querbeanspruchung (Vibrationsprfung), Berlin: Beuth; 2002. Pai NG, Hess DP. Experimental study of loosening of threaded fasteners due to dynamic sheadloads. J Sound Vib 2002;253:585602. Pai NG, Hess DP. Three-dimensional nite element analysis of threaded fastener loosening due to dynamic shear load. Eng Fail Anal 2002;9:383402. Izumi S, Yokoyama T, Iwasaki A, Sakai S. Three-dimensional nite element analysis of tightening and loosening mechanism of threaded fastener. Eng Fail Anal 2005;12:60415. Koch D. Friedrich C. Dinger G. Simulation of rotational self-loosening of bolted joints. NAFEMS seminar: Simulation of connections and joints in structures, Wiesbaden; 2010. Bickford JH. An introduction to design and behaviour of bolted joints. 3rd ed. New York: Marcel Dekker; 1995. Friedrich C. Screw-designer, intelligent software for non-linear calculation of bolted joints, version V2.0; 2004.

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DIN EN ISO 16047. Fasteners torque/clamp force testing, Berlin: Beuth; 2005. Sakai T. Bolted joint engineering fundamentals and applications. Berlin: Beuth; 2008. Mackerle J. Finite element analysis of fastening and joining: a bibliography (19902002). Int J Pres Ves Pip 2003;80:25371. Friedrich C, Koch D, Dinger G. Force transfer behaviour of fastened structures in light weight design. American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME; 2008. IMECE2008-66873. [16] Dinger G, Friedrich C, Kopfer H, Gerhard T. Self-loosening of bolted joints in lightweight design computational determination and prevention through engineering design of fastening system, 38. Tagung des DVM-Arbeitskreises Betriebsfestigkeit, in press.