Analysis of Bolting in Flanged Connections

by
Jordan Christopher Baker
A Masters Engineering Project Submitted to the Graduate
Facuty o! "ensseaer Poytechnic #nstitute
in Partia Fu!iment o! the
"e$uirements !or the degree o!
MAS%E" &F MEC'A(#CA) E(G#(EE"#(G
Appro*ed+
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Ernesto Gutierre-.Mira*ete/ Masters Engineering Project Ad*iser
"ensseaer Poytechnic #nstitute
'art!ord/ Connecticut
Apri/ 0112
i
3 Copyright 0112
by
Jordan Christopher Baker
A "ights "eser*ed
ii
CONTENTS
)#S% &F %AB)ES444444444444444444444444555 i*
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AC7(&8)E9GME(%444444444444444444444455 *i
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?5 C&(C)6S#&(4444444444444444444444444 02
APPE(9#@ A4444444444444444444444444455 01
APPE(9#@ B4455444444444444444444444444 0>
"EFE"E(CES444444444444444444444444445 0=
iii
LIST OF TABLES
%abe ;+ E!!ecti*e Gasket 8idth444444444444444444455 01
%abe 0+ Gasket Seating4444444444444444444444555 0;
%abe >+ Gasket Materia and Contact Facing4444444444444455 00
i*
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure ;+ #mage o! a Boted Fange Joint44444444444444445 0
Figure 0+ Bot.(ut Connectors Faiures4444444444444444555 >
Figure >+ Cross.section o! a Boted Fange Joint44444444444445 ?
Figure ?+ Bot )oad Anaysis44444444444444444444555 A
Figure B+ Bot Fiet44444444444444444444444455 ;1
Figure =+ Bot %hread44444444444444444444444555 ;;
Figure A+ FEA Mode o! Bot Fiet4444444444444444445 ;?
Figure C+ (umber o! Eements *5 Fiet Stress444444444444445 ;B
Figure 2+ FEA o! %hread "oot444444444444444444455555 ;=
Figure ;1+ (umber o! Eements *5 "oot Stress4444444444444555 ;A
Figure ;;+ Fiet Stress Concentration Factor4444444444444455 0>
Figure ;0+ "oot Stress Concentration Factor !or Bending444444444555 0?
Figure ;>+ "oot Stress Concentration Factor !or A:ia )oading44444445 0B
*
ACKNOWLEDGENT
# Doud ike to thank 9r5 Ernesto Gutierre-.Mira*ete !or a o! his support and
guidance5 #t has been di!!icut maintaining my schedue Dith my career/ and spending
the necessary time to compete my Masters Project to an acceptabe e*e5 # Doud not
ha*e been abe to compete the project Dith out his speedy response to $uestions/ and his
thorough ansDers5
# Doud aso ike to thank Caitin !or her support as De5 She has aDays been there
!or me/ and has aDays been supporti*e e*en i! it meant not being abe to spend time
Dith her5
*i
NOENCLATURE
Sy!"ol Definition Unit
A
b
E cross.sectiona area o! the bots using the root diameter o! the
thread or east diameter to the bottom o! the sots
in
0
A
m
E tota re$uired cross.sectiona area o! bots
/
taken as the greater o!
A
m;
and A
m0
in
0
A
m;
E
E
tota cross.sectiona area o! bots at root o! thread or section o!
east diameter under stress/ re$uired !or the operating conditions
8
m;
FS
b
in
0
A
m0
E tota cross.sectiona area o! bots at root o! thread or section o!
east diameter under stress/ re$uired or gasket seaing
in
0
b E E!!ecti*e gasket or joint.contact.sur!ace seating Didth in
b
1
E Basic gasket seating Didth in
9 E Major diameter o! bot in
d
r
E "oot diameter o! bot thread in
F
p
E Bot pre.oad b
!
G E 9iameter o! ocation o! gasket oad reaction5 9e!ined as !ooDs+
8hen

1
b
;F? in5 G=mmH/ G E mean diameter o! gasket
contact !ace5
8hen b
0
<;F? in5 G=mmH/ G E outside diameter o! gasket
contact !ace ess 0b5
in
' E
E
%ota hydrostatic end !orce
15ACBG
0
P
b
!
'
P
E %ota joint.contact sur!ace compression oad
0b : >5;? GmP
b
!
7
b
E (omina bending stress concentration !actor .
7
d
E 9irect stress concentration !actor .
7
!
E Fiet stress concentration !actor .
7
t
E %rans*erse shear stress concentration !actor .
m E Gasket !actor .
n
e
E E!!ecti*e number o! oad bearing threads .
p E Bot thread pitch in
P E #nterna design pressure psi
r
o
E
E
Major radius
9F0
in
r
p
E Pitch radius in
r
r
E
E
"oot radius
d
r
F0
in
S E Assemby stress psi
S
a
E AoDabe bot stress at atmospheric temperature psi
S
b
E AoDabe bot stress at design temperature psi
8 E Fange design bot oad/ !or the operating conditions or gasket
seating/ as may appy5
b
!
8
m;
E Minimum re$uired bot oad !or the operating conditions5 For
!ange pairs used to contain a tubesheet !or a !oating head or a
b
!
*ii
6.tube type o! heat e:changers/ or !or any other simiar design/
8
m;
sha be the arger o! the *aues as indi*iduay cacuated !or
each !ange/ and that *aue sha be used !or both !anges5
8
m0
E Minimum re$uired bot oad !or gasket seating5 For !ange pairs
used to contain a tubesheet !or a !oating head or 6.tube type o!
head e:changer/ or !or any other simiar design Dhere the !anges
or gaskets are not the same/ 8
m0
sha be the arger o! the *aues
cacuated !or each !ange and that *aue sha be used !or both
!anges5
b
!
D E 8idth used to determine the basic gasket seating Didth b
1
/ based
upon the contact Didth betDeen the !ange !acing and the gasket
in
y E Gasket or joint.contact.sur!ace unit seating oad psi
;
E Principe stress ;
psi
0
E Principe stress 0 psi
>
E Principe stress >
psi
b
E (omina thread bending stress psi
dir
E 9irect stress in root cross.section
psi
eq

E %hread root stress psi

f

E Fiet stress
psi
i
E #nitia bot stress psi
x
E Pane stress in :.direction
psi
z
E Pane stress in -.direction psi
ma: r
E Ma:imum trans*erse shear stress due to thread bending
psi
zx
E Shear stress on pane psi
FEA E Finite Eement Anaysis .
C&SM&S E FEA so!tDare .
A(S# E American (ationa Standards #nstitute .
ASME E American Society o! Mechanica Engineers .
*iii
ABSTRACT
A mode o! a boted !ange Das created/ using the standards that ha*e been
produced !rom the A(S# GAmerican (ationa Standards #nstituteH/ Dhich is pubished by
the ASME GAmerican Society o! Mechanica EngineersH and sponsored jointy by the
ASME and the Society o! Automoti*e Engineers I=J5
%hese standards de!ine neary e*ery aspect o! the boted !angeK !rom the
dimensions/ toerances/ materias/ and practices used !or manu!acturing the !anges/ as
De as the dimensions/ toerances/ materias and practices !or the bots to be instaed in
the !anges5
%he ASME code has been de*eoped based on a simpe e$uiibrium cacuation o!
an initia bot oad/ a contact pressure o! gasket/ a:ia !orce resuting !rom interna
pressure/ as De as best practices earned o*er time5 %he objecti*e o! this report is to
take the recommendations o! the A(S#FASME !or pre.oading o! the boted !ange/ and
then anay-ing the boting stresses to *aidate their practice5
#n addition/ FEA modes Dere created and e:amined to compare the cassica bot
anaysis theory to Dhat Das determined using !inite eement anaysis5 %he areas that had
been concentrated on Dere the !iet connecting the bot head to the bot shank/ and the
!irst three oad bearing threads o! the bot.nut connection5 Se*era iterations Dere
per!ormed/ each time increasing the mesh o! the !inite eement mode5 As the mesh
increased/ naturay the number o! eements Doud increase/ con*erging the stress gi*en
!rom the FEA mode to the e:act theoretica soution5
%he e:act theoretica soution Das not precisey matched in the area o! the root o!
the oad bearing threads/ due to the imitations o! the so!tDare that Das a*aiabe5
'oDe*er/ se*era supporting re!erences con!irm pastic yieding occurring at the root o!
the !irst oad bearing thread5

i:
#$ INTRODUCTION
9ue to the recent !ocus on the production o! eectrica poDer Dithout the reease o!
harm!u carbon dio:ide emissions/ emphasis has been paced on the use o! higher
temperature systems !or the production o! energy5 Bot.nut connectors GFigure ;H are one
o! the basic types o! !asteners used in machines and structura systems used in high
temperature poDer generation systems5 %hese joints pay an important roe in the sa!ety
and reiabiity o! the systems I;J5 #t is knoDn that the beha*ior o! rea a:isymmetric
boted joints in tension is much more compicated than that the con*entiona theory
describes I0J5 #t is aso knoDn that the oad distribution among the threads in a threaded
connection is not uni!orm5 Most o! the appied oad is carried by the !irst three engaged
threads I>J5 A number o! parameters need to be considered Dhen determining the oad
distribution/ Dhich incudes the !orm o! the threads/ the pitch o! the threads/ the number
o! engaged threads/ and the boundary conditions5
Additionay/ Dhen irreguarities such as notches/ hoes/ or groo*es e:ist in the
geometry o! any structura member/ the stress distribution in the neighborhood o! the
irreguarity is atered5 Such irreguarities are caed stress raisers/ and the regions in
Dhich they occur are caed areas o! stress concentration I?J5 Lery !eD stress intensity
!actor soutions !or threaded connections ha*e been pubished5 &! these/ most are
di!!icut to use !or comparati*e purposes because o! obscure !eatures o! anayses or
presentation IBJ5 #n most situations/ stress concentrations !actors !or notches Ge$ui*aent
to a threadH are obtained e:perimentay I=J5
%he objecti*es o! this project is to cacuate the bot oads estabished by the ASME
pressure *esse code/ and compute the cassica stress cacuations in the bots to shank
!iet and the oad bearing threads5 A comparison o! the stresses to an FEA mode Di
aso be conducted/ and concusions draDn to support or re!ute the re$uirements
estabished by the ASME code5
;
Fig%&e #' I!age of a Bolted Flange (oint
Fange designs GFigure ;H ha*e been the subject o! a ot o! criticism !or the past
decade IAJ5 &! major concern is the ack o! the traditiona design procedures ICJ to
$uanti!y the tightness and the e!!ect o! temperature5 8hie history shoDs that most
!anges ha*e been in ser*ice e!!ecti*ey/ probems sti arise5 "ea:ation o! the gasket
due to therma transients and creep are the main cause to bame !or eakage I2J/ and a
oss o! more than ha! o! the initia operating gasket oad is commony encountered in
!ange joints Dith certain gaskets operating at reati*ey high temperatures IAJ5 A
comprehensi*e sur*ey I2J conducted in ;2CB shoDed that high operationa temperatures
and therma transients are one o! the major sources o! !anged joint !aiure I;1J5
Ceramic materias are !ar more resistant to the !aiure modes o! high temperatures
than are metas5 #t may be more practica !rom a materias stand point to choose ceramics
!or the !abrication o! a certain component/ athough it may be more practica to choose
meta !rom a manu!acturing standpoint5 %his decision ogic Di re$uire the use o!
boting to mate the tDo components5 %he boted !ange connections are Didey used in
energy and process pants/ and the design procedure used to produce them is speci!ied in
0
the American Society o! Mechanica Engineers GASMEH Boier and Pressure Lesse
Code Section L### 9i*ision ; ICJ5 %his design procedure is based on a simpe
e$uiibrium cacuation o! an initia bot oad/ a contact pressure o! gasket and an a:ia
!orce resuting !rom interna pressure I;;J5 %he dimensions !or the re$uired boting are
gi*en by the American (ationa Standards #nstitute GA(S#H/ Dhie the re$uired materia
and design stress can be !ound in Section ## Part 9 o! the ASME code5
8hen anay-ing a bot preoad/ a *ast range o! actua preoaded *aues that can be
seen by standard tor$uing methods5 %he most common method o! oading a bot is a
tor$ue Drench5 %his method may estabish an actua preoad o! MF. >1N to the *aue that
Das set on the tor$ue Drench I=J5
Fig%&e )' Bolt*N%t Connecto& Fail%&es
&! a !asteners used in structures/ the bot.nut connectors are one o! the most basic
types5 #t has been estimated I;0J that bot nut connector !aiures are distributed as !ooD
GFigure 0H I;J+
;5 ;BN under the head
05 01N at the end o! the thread
>5 =BN in the thread at the nut !ace
>
;BN

;BN
N
01N
=BN
By using a reduced bot shank/ the situation Dith regard to !atigue !aiures o! the
second type can be impro*ed signi!icanty I;>/ ;?J5 Aso/ Dith a reduced shank/ a arger
!iet radius can be pro*ided under the head thereby impro*ing the design Dith regard to
!aiures o! the !irst type I;0J5 %hese recommendations Dere impemented in the design o!
the bot that Das anay-ed in this study5
%his paper utii-es the anaytica theory estabished by the ASME Code/ Section
L###/ 9i*ision ;/ and Appendi: ##5 %his simper anaysis can be compared to 9i*ision 0
o! the code/ Dhich gi*es the designer greater !reedom o! choice/ but re$uires a detaied
design anaysis to pro*e the sa!ety o! the proposed con!iguration I;BJ5
Fig%&e +' C&oss Section of a Bolted Flange (oint
%he ASME code has standardi-ed a arge *ariety o! !anges/ ranging !rom a O inch
up to a 0? inch pipe !anges5 For the purpose o! this report De Di be e:amining the
boting recommended !or a ;0 inch boted !ange/ as seen in Figure > abo*e5 %his !igure
aso highights the terminoogy used in describing the !ange5 A *ery arge array o!
?
'ub
She
Fange
"ing Gasket
Bot
(ut
boting materias can be seected based on the operating temperature o! the !ange/ but
since De are interested in energy production appications/ De Di use a high strength
carbon stee boting materia/ SA.B?1 B0?/ since higher temperature has itte impact on
its yied strength5
#deay/ a bot Di e:perience ony a ongitudina stress !rom the instaation
preoad5 As stated/ that is idea/ and it shoud be recogni-ed that a prying action can
occur Dith an eccentricay oaded bot/ such as one o! a boted !ange5 #! the sti!!ness o!
a !ange joint is high/ then prying action can be regarded as negigibe I;BJ5 Because o!
the si-e o! our boted !ange connection/ and that the ASME code compensates !or these
stresses/ in the cacuations that !ooDK the prying action Di be negected5
B
)$ T,EORETICAL ANAL-SIS
As stated pre*iousy/ the objecti*es o! this project is to cacuate the bot oads
estabished by the ASME pressure *esse code/ and compute the cassica stress
cacuations in the bots to shank !iet and the oad bearing threads5 %he ASME design
procedure is based on a simpe e$uiibrium cacuation o! an initia bot oad/ a contact
pressure o! gasket and an a:ia !orce resuting !rom interna pressure I;;J5 A comparison
o! the stresses to an FEA mode Di aso be conducted/ and concusions draDn to
support or re!ute the re$uirements estabished by the ASME code5
8hen designing a boted !ange/ it is necessary to consider the in.ser*ice camping
!orce re$uired !or the assemby5 %he initia camp has to be high enough to compensate
!or a o! the mechanisms Dhich may reduce the camping !orce to the in.ser*ice e*e/
incuding I;BJ+
;5 Embedment rea:ation
05 Eastic interactions
>5 Creep o! meta parts/ gaskets/ etc5
?5 E:terna %ensie )oads
B5 'oe inter!erence
=5 "esistance o! joint members to being pued together
A5 Pre*aiing tor$ue
C5 9i!!erentia therma e:pansion
%he entire sur!ace o! the gasket is assumed to not be competey oaded as a resut o!
!ange rotation5 So an Pe!!ecti*e areaQ is computed based on an Pe!!ecti*e DidthQ o! the
gasket5 (aturay/ a great number o! types o! gaskets e:ist/ and the e!!ecti*e gasket
Didth/ b
1
/ can be cacuated using %abe 0.B5; and %abe 0.B50 o! 011Ca Section L### R
9i*ision ; o! the ASME Code5 %hese tabes are repicated in Appendi: A o! this report5
=
Fig%&e . / Bolt Load Analysis
For the purposes o! this report/ a meta ring gasket Di be anay-ed/ the most
common gasket used in high temperature operations I;;J5 Figure ? gi*es a body diagram
representing the inputs !or the bot oad anaysis5 %he e$uation beoD gi*es b
1
/ the basic
gasket seating width/ as a !unction o! w/ the width of the ring gasket/ and is taken !rom
the ASME code5
C
1
w
b =
G;H
Since the basic gasket seating Didth o! our ring gasket Di not e:ceed S in/ the
effective width of the gasket/ b, as seen in %abe 0 o! this report I;BJ/ Di be e$ua to the
basic gasket seating width5
1
b b =
G0H
8hen designing a boted !ange connection/ it is necessary to cacuate the bot
oads based o!! o! a number o! re$uirements !or our situation5 #n genera/ the cacuations
shoud be made !or each o! the !ooDing design conditions5 %he !irst condition being the
minimum required bolt load for seating of the gasket GW
m2
H/ and the second being the
minimum required bolt load for the operating conditions GW
m1
H5
'ere/ according to ICJ
A
m
! ! W + =
; G>H
Dhere+
" !
0
ACB 5 1 = G?H
"m b !

;? 5 > 0 = GBH
%he *ariabe ! is the total h#drostatic end force/ Dhereas !

is the total contact

surface compression load5 %he internal design pressure is P/ Dhie G is the diameter at
the location of the gasket load reaction5 %he term m is a gasket factor/ obtained !rom
%abe 0.B5; o! 011Ca Section L### R 9i*ision ; o! the ASME Code/ aong Dith the #
term is the minimum design seating stress5 %hese constants can take *arious *aues/
depending on the type and materia o! the gasket being used5
b"# W
m
;? 5 >
0
=
G=H
%he total required cross sectional area of bolts G$
m
H and the cross%sectional area of
the bolts G$
b
H using the root diameter/ are cacuated !rom the re$uired bot oads !rom
abo*e/ and the allowable bolt stress at atmospheric temperature GS
a
H/ and the allowable
bolt stress at design temperature GS
b
H5 %he aoDabe bot stress *aues are obtained !rom
Subpart ; Section ## Part 9 o! the ASME code5 %he tota cross sectiona area o! bots A
m
re$uired !or both the operating conditions and gasket seating is the greater o! the *aues
!or $
m1
and $
m2
/ Dhere A
m;
is the total cross sectional area of bolts at the root of the
thread required for the operating conditions/ and A
m0
is the total cross%sectional area of
the bolts at the root of the thread required for gasket seating5 %he bots to be used sha
be made such that the actual total cross%sectional area of bolts, $
b
, Di not be ess than
$
m
5
b
m
m
&
W
$
;
;
=
GAH
a
m
m
&
W
$
0
0
=
GCH
?
0
r
r
d
$ = G2H
r b b
$ n $ =
G;1H
8here d
r
is the root diameter of the bolts being used in the boted !ange/ $
r
is the
cross sectional area using the root diameter, and n
b
is the total number of bolts in the
!ange5 As mentioned earier in this section/ the A(S# codes Di si-e the bots as De as
C
the !anges/ Dhich is Dhere De Di !ind our re!erence !or root diameter and tota number
o! bots5
%he flange design bolt load/ 8/ is cacuated as !ooDs/ and is then used to
cacuate Dhat Di be used as the indi*idua bolt load/ W
b
5
( )
0
a b m
& $ $
W
+
= G;;H
b
b
n
W
W =
G;0H
Section L### o! the ASME code contains a non.mandatory Appendi: S that has
estabished design conditions !or boted !ange connections5 #t recommends that the bots
reai-e a desired stress5 6sing this recommendation/ it is aso possibe to determine the
boting preoad/ '
p
/ using the nominal diameter of the bolt/ (/ and the e:pected
assembl# stress, &5
(
&
?B111
=
G;>H
r p
$ & ' =
G;?H
&nce De determine the bot preoad/ De Di then anay-e the tDo greatest areas o!
concern/ the stress under the head o! the bot/ and the stress in the root o! the oad
bearing threads5
%he fillet stress/ f

/ underneath the head o! the bot GFigure BH Di be cacuated

using re!erences to determine the fillet stress concentration factor/ )
f
/ and mutipying it
by the nominal stress in the bolt/ i

5 Figure ? gi*es the ocation being re!erred to Dhen

considering the !iet stress o! the bot5 %hese are computed !rom the !rom the !ooDing
e$uations/ !i!teen G;BH and si:teen G;=H5
A soution using the Finite Eement Anaysis GFEAH code C&SM&S Di aso be
de*eoped !or comparison to the cacuated soution5 %he FEA Di be per!ormed using
the eement type and number o! eements that ga*e the most accurate resuts/ compared
to the resuts gi*en !rom the cassica anaysis5
2
Fig%&e 0 / Bolt Fillet
r
p
i
$
'
=
G;BH
i f f
) =
G;=H
%he stress in the root o! the oad bearing threads GFigure =H can be cacuated by
using the e$uations beoD5 %hese e$uations assume that the -.a:is is in the a:ia
direction o! the bot/ the :.a:is is in the radia direction o! the bot/ and the y.a:is is in
the tangentia direction5
%he root radius Gr
r
H/ pitch radius Gr
p
H/ and ma*or radius Gr
o
H/ Di a ha*e to be
knoDn !or determining these stresses/ as De as the effective number of threads that
carr# the load/ n
e
/ and the thread pitch/ p5
;1
Fig%&e 1 / Bolt T2&ead
6sing the bot pre.oad recommended !rom the ASME code/ and the thread
dimensions gi*en estabished in the A(S#/ the stresses that Di accumuate in the thread
root can be determined5 %he stresses that Di gather are the direct stress in the root
cross%section G dir

H/ the maximum transverse shear stress due to bending o! the thread G

ma: r

H/ and the nominal thread bending stress G b

H5
( )
e r
p
dir
n r r
'
0 0
1

=

G;AH
e r
p
r
pn r
'

0
>
ma:
=

G;CH
( )
0
;0
p n r
r r '
e r
r p p
b

=
G;2H
Furthermore/ since the root o! the threads Di be a stress riser/ a stress concentration
!actor Di ha*e to be appied5 %hese Di be re!erenced ater on in the discussion/ and
incude )
t
/ )
d
/ and )
b
5
8hen mutipying the indi*idua stress concentration !actors times the
corresponding stress/ the ma:imum pane and shear stresses are determined5
dir d z
) =
G01H
b b x
) =
G0;H
;;
ma:
=
r t zx
)
G00H
%he cacuated stresses can then be used to produce the principa stresses by so*ing
the cubic e$uation5
( )
( ) 1 0
0 0 0
0 0 0 0 >
= +

+ + + + +
x# z zx # #z x zx #z x# z # x
zx #z x# x z z # # x z # x


G0>H
For our particuar states o! stress at our critica point/ this e$uation is reduced to/
( ) ( ) 1
0 0 >
= + +
zx x z z x
G0?H
A!ter so*ing !or the three principa stresses/ the e$ui*aent Lon Mises stress G eq

H
can then be determined5 %his is the e!!ecti*e stress that e:ists at the root o! the oad
bearing threads5
0
0 0 ;
0
;
+ =
eq
G0BH
A soution using the !inite eement anaysis GFEAH code C&SM&S Di be used !or
comparison to the abo*e cacuated soutions5 %he sensiti*ity o! the resuts to the number
o! eements Di be in*estigated5
;0
+$ RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
For the purposes o! this report De Di be e:amining a ;0Q pipe !ange5 %he code
speci!ies that a !ange o! this si-e Di be boted together using a 0Q.?5B6(C he: head
bot5 %he speci!ications !or these threads can be !ound in a Machinerys 'andbook I;=J5
%he ASMEFA(S# code aso go*erns the speci!ication and design o! a boted !ange
under A(S# B;=5B and the ring gasket under ASMEFA(S# B;=5015 %he code speci!ies
the dimensions and materia o! the !ange/ as De as the necessary boting and bot
patterns that Di be re$uired !or the cacuations5
A ;0Q pipe !ange as estabished by the A(S# code/ Di ha*e a gasket width o! 5
?>AB5 %he diameter at the location of the gasket load reaction/ "/ is determined !rom
both the A(S# code B;=5B that estabishes the si-ing o! the !ange/ as De as %abe 0.B50
G%abe ; and %abe 0 o! this reportH o! Section L###.9i*ision ; o! the ASME code5 %he
*aues !or m/ the gasket factor/ and y/ the gasket seating load/ are determined !rom %abe
0.B5; G%abe > o! this reportH o! Section L###.9i*ision ; o! the ASME code5 For the
purposes o! this report a *aue o! =5B has been seected !or m, and a *aue o! 0=/111 psi
!or y/ since De Di assume the gasket is made o! either a stainess or nicke based aoy5
%he ma:imum aoDabe tensie stress *aues permitted !or di!!erent materias are
gi*en in Subpart ; o! Section ##/ Part 95 %abe > o! Part 9 co*ers the ma:imum
aoDabe stress *aues !or high aoy stees used !or boting5 %his is Dhat is re!erenced
to determine the allowable bolt stress at atmospheric temperature G&
a
H/ and the
allowable bolt stress at design temperature G&
b
H5
%he total number of bolts Gn
b
H used on the !ange/ as De as the thru hoe in the
!ange/ is determined by the si-ing/ gi*en by the A(S# code5 For our ;0Q !ange/ there
are si:teen G;=H bots5 %he root diameter o! these bots is aso estabished by the A(S#
code/ and is gi*en as ;5A>B inches !or a 0Q.?5B6(C thread5
6sing these *aues obtained !rom the ASME and the A(S# code/ and e$uations one
G;H through tDe*e G;0H/ the bolt load GWH is determined to be ?;/=;> bs5 'oDe*er/ (on.
mandatory Appendi: S o! Section L### R 9i*ision ; o! the ASME code recommends an
assembl# stress/ &/ o! the !ange/ that is seen in e$uation ;>5 6sing e$uation ;?/ the bolt
pre%load +'
p
,/ is noD determined to be AB/002 bs5
;>
Athough this might seem high/ it is important to remember that this is a tDo inch
major diameter bot/ Dhich is much arger than bots used in many major commercia
appications5 Bots are recommended to be tightened to appro:imatey C1 to 21 percent
o! their yied strength I=J5 For comparison/ a bot this si-e Doud resut in an
appro:imate preoad o! 00B/111 bs !or customary commercia appications5
%he re$uired stress concentration !actors are cacuated !rom Figures ;;/ ;0/ and ;>
I;0J/ and are ocated in Appendi: B o! this report5 %hese re!erenced sources ha*e been
determined e:perimentay/ by such means as photo easticity or precision strain gage/
and documented !or design use I?J5
A!ter determining the stress concentration !actor/ De can concude that the !iet
stress is BC/CC= psi5 A !inite eement mode Das created to estimate the stresses in the
bot !iet and to compare them against the resuts o! the cacuations abo*e5
Fig%&e 3 / FEA odel of Bolt Fillet 4COSOS5
6sing AB/111 nodes/ the !inite mode GFigure AH ga*e a !iet stress o! BC/?;B psi/
a di!!erence o! ess than ; N/ Dith respect to the cassica stress cacuations5 #t is Dorth
noting hoDe*er that the number o! eements had to be increased signi!icanty to get these
resuts5 Figure C beoD shoDs the resuts o! FEM computations using di!!erent meshes5
;?
53000
54000
55000
56000
57000
58000
59000
60000
0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000
# of Elements
F
i
l
l
e
t

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
p
s
i
)
FEA Fillet Stress Classical Calculated Fillet Stress
Fig%&e 6 / N%!"e& of Ele!ents 7$ Fillet St&ess
8e Di use the same stress concentration re!erence !or determining the stress in the
root o! the thread5 Another noteDorthy consideration is that not a threads o! the bot
Di carry the oad appied to the bot5 %his stress is not uni!ormy distributed because o!
!actors such as bending o! the threads as cantie*er beams and manu!acturing *ariations
!rom the theoretica geometry I=J5
Se*era !actors a!!ect the actua stress concentration !actor !or the root o! a threaded
section5 %hreads that are !ormed by roing betDeen dies that !orce the materia to cod.
!orm into the threaded contour o! the die groo*es are stronger than cut or ground threads
in !atigue and impact because o! cod Dorking/ !a*orabe Gcompressi*eH residua stresses
at the thread roots/ and a more !a*orabe grain structure I=J5 Additionay/ the ma:imum
!atigue strength is increased i! the threads are roed subse$uent to heat treatment/ so that
the ensuing Dork hardening and compressi*e residua stresses are not ost5
%he stress concentration !actor )
b
/ !or the bending o! the thread/ and as a !unction o!
notch ange is obtained !rom Figure ;05 Stress concentration !actors *ary depending on
Dhether the eement is in bending or a:ia oading5 %he chart in Figure ;> Di be used to
determine the stress concentration !actors !or 7
d
and 7
t
/ since these stress are generated
as a resut o! the a:ia oad5
A!ter determining the stress concentration !actors !or the root o! the thread/ De can
then utii-e e$uations 01 through 0B to determine the Lon Mises stress in the root o! the
;B
!irst oad carrying thread5 %his cacuated stress Das >=C/?C1 psi5 %his seems remarkaby
high/ and Doud suggest that yieding has occurred in this ocation5 A comparison Das
then run using !inite eement anaysis to con!irm this e:pectation5 Figure 2 shoDs
computed Lon Mises stress o! the thread root using the FEM mode5
Fig%&e 8 / FEA of T2&ead Root 4COSOS5
Per!orming the !inite eement anaysis on the thread root produced a stress o!
;>B/;C25=C psi/ Dhich athough indicated yieding/ Das not in the *icinity o! the
cacuated *aue5 6pon increasing the number o! eements/ the *aue had appeared to
approach the cacuated *aue/ but due to the imitations o! the so!tDare being used/
coud not reai-e enough eements to obtain agreement Dith the *aue obtained/ using the
re!erenced e$uations5 Figure ;1 shoDs a graph indicating the con*ergence o! the
cacuated stress to the FEA determined stress5
;=
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
350000
400000
0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000
Number of Elements
R
o
o
t

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
p
s
i
)
FEA Thread Root Stress Classical Calculated Thread Root Stress
Fig%&e #9 / N%!"e& of Ele!ents 7$ Root St&ess
%he initia specuation coud be that the stresses cacuated !rom the ASME code
e$uations are incorrect5 But upon ooking into the subject/ it is possibe and acceptabe
!or yieding to occur at the thread root5 %he distribution o! the a:ia stress near the ends
o! the oaded portion o! a screD is !ar !rom uni!orm5 %his is not a concern noD because
a:ia stresses are $uite oD/ and because threaded !asteners shoud aDays ha*e enough
ductiity to permit oca yieding at thread roots Dithout damage I=J5
#t is generay considered that the !irst three threads Di carry neary the entire bot
oad/ and that the !irst thread Di bear the most oad o! the three5 %Do important !actors
causing this are+
%he oad is communa among the three threads as redundant oad.carrying
members5 %he shortest path is through the !irst thread I=J5
%he appied oad causes the threaded segment o! the bot to be in tension/
Dhereas the mating portion o! the nut is in compression5 %he resuting
de!ections sighty increase bot pitch and decreases nut pitch5 %his tends to
reie*e the pressure on the second and third threads I=J5
%he recommendation using assembl# stress/ (/ is !rom a non.mandatory section o!
the ASME code/ Doud aoD us to use the cacuated bolt load/ W
b
5 %his Doud aoD us
to reduce our bot pre.oad to ?1/;0? bs/ neary cutting our stresses in ha!5 Athough
this might seem ogica/ many other probems arise by not ha*ing a high initia tension5
8ith threaded !asteners/ it is norma !or yieding to crop up at the root o! the bot
;A
threads5 %he rationae behind this is that the higher the initia tension/ the ess ikey the
joint members Di separate5 Aso/ the higher the initia tension/ the greater the !riction
!orces to resist the reati*e motion in shear I=J5
%ests ha*e shoDn that a typica joint oses about B percent o! its initia tension Dith
in a !eD minutes/ and that *arious rea:ation e!!ects resut in the oss o! about another B
percent Dithin a !eD Deeks I=J5 #n some cases/ it is necessary to retighten bots
periodicay during operation5
#t is important to recogni-e that tightening o! bots to !u yied strength shoud not
be speci!ied/ because o! the inaccuracies o! standard bot pre.oading methods/ athough
it is ad*antageous to obtain a high initia bot tension5 #t is signi!icant to be aDare that
the diminuti*e amount o! yieding that occurs Dhen bots are tightened to the !u proo!
oad is not detrimenta to any bot materia o! ade$uate ductiity5 %he ad*antages to
tightening this !orce!uy are+
%he dynamic oad on the bot is reduced because the e!!ecti*e area o! the
camped members is arger I=J5
%here is a ma:imum protection against o*eroads Dhich cause the joint to
separate I=J5
%here is a ma:imum protection against thread oosening I=J5
;C
.$ CONCLUSION
Mutipe *ariabes are in*o*ed in cacuating the stresses in a boted !ange/ and
rey on a Dide *ariety o! !actors that ha*e an e!!ect on these *ariabes5 %he most
important *ariabes being the thread !orming method a!!ecting the stress concentration/
and the !riction !actor and too accuracy a!!ecting the actua preoad estabished in the
bot5 %his e:pains Dhy the A(S#FASME code is based on a conser*ati*e and simper
anaysis5
E*en though the code Di speci!y a pre.oad/ the *ariation in actuay estabishing
that pre.oad can range !rom MF. >1N/ and a Dide range o! !actors a!!ect the stress
concentration on the thread root5 Many !actors a!!ect the accuracy o! tor$uing/ but as an
e:ampe/ the !riction coe!!icient is a main dri*er !or the arge *ariation5 But in a
testament to the *ariabe interactions/ Dhen the coe!!icient at the thread inter!ace is
increased/ the stress concentration !actor decreases I;J5 %he most accurate Day to
determine the stress concentration !actor is through physica testing/ but e*en Dith this
approach/ the *ariances in manu!acturing can sti produce di!!erent stress
concentrations5
%he !inite eement anaysis Das not e!!ecti*e in repicating the ASME code
computed stress at the thread root5 'oDe*er/ this may be due to imitations o! the
particuar so!tDare *ersion that Das a*aiabe5 %he stress risers in the root o! the thread
Dere so minute that the program coud not generate enough eements to propery reso*e
the particuar area o! stress concentration5 #ncreasing the number o! eements did hep/
but the percent di!!erence/ in computed stress Das sti high in this particuar case5
%he !inite eement anaysis Das e!!ecti*e at repicating the theoretica stress at the
!iet radius !rom bot head to shank transition5 'oDe*er/ due to the si-e o! the bot/ this
!iet radius Das reati*ey arge/ and did not create a highy concentrated stress riser5
Athough the stresses cacuated !rom the cassica e$uations Dere accurate/ the area
o! most concern/ the !irst oad bearing thread/ coud not be *aidated Dith the use o! the
!inite eement mode used in the study5 E*en i! this scenario changes/ a arge sa!ety
margin needs to be considered due to the arge array o! *ariabes that e!!ect estabishing
the pre.oad as De as the stress concentration on the thread root5
;2
A::ENDI; A
Ta"le # / Effecti7e Gas<et Widt2 4Refe&ence 65
01
Ta"le ) / Gas<et Seating 4Refe&ence 65
0;
Ta"le + / Gas<et ate&ials and Contact Facings 4Refe&ence 65
00
A::ENDI; B
Fig%&e ## / Fillet St&ess Concent&ation Facto& 4Refe&ence #)5
0>
Fig%&e #) / Root St&ess Concent&ation Facto& fo& Bending 4Refe&ence #)5
0?
Fig%&e #+ / Root St&ess Concent&ation Facto& fo& A=ial Loading 4Refe&ence #)5
0B
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;>?05
I0J Thang/ &u$i5 9iscussion on Beha*ior o! Boted Joints in %ension5 Journa o!
Mechanica 9esign5 May 011B/ Loume ;0A/ pp5 B1=.B;15
I>J GreDa/ A5S5/ Sabbaghian/ M5 )oad 9istribution BetDeen %hreads in %hreaded
Connections5 Journa o! Pressure Lesse %echnoogy5 February ;22A/ Loume ;;2/ pg
2;.2B5
I?J Srini*asan/ GoDri5 )ehnho!!/ %5F5 Bot 'ead Fiet Stress Concentration Factors in
Cyindrica Pressure Lesses5 Journa o! Pressure Lesse %echnoogy5 August 011;/
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?;?.?005
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Code/ 011Ca/ Section L###/ 9i*ision ;
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"esearch Counci5
I;1J Bou-id/ Abde.'akim5 (echache/ Aki5 %hermay #nduced 9e!ections in Boted
Fanged Connections5 Journa o! Pressure Lesse %echnoogy5 (o*ember 011B5 Loume
;0A/ pp5 >2?.?1;5
I;;J Sato/ %akuya5 7ado/ 7inchiro5 #neastic Anaysis o! 9issimiar Materia Fanges
Dith Meta "ing Gaskets at Ee*ated %emperatures5 ASME Pressure Lesses and Piping
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0=
I;0J Pikey/ 85 95/ ;22A/ Petersons Stress Concentration Factors/ 8iey/ (eD <ork/ pp5
>CA.>CC5
I;>J Staede/ 85/ ;2>>/ 9auer!estigkeit *on Schrauben/ Mitt5 9er
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I;BJ Bick!ord/ John '5 An #ntroduction to the 9esign and Beha*ior o! Boted Joints/
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I;=J Jones/ Frankin 95 &berg/ Erik5 'orton/ 'obrook )5 "y!!e/ 'enry '5 0A
th
Edition
Machinerys 'andbook5 #ndustria Press #nc/ 011?5
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#nc5 01115
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McGraD 'i Companies/ #nc5 011;5
I01J Coins/ Jack A5 Mechanica 9esign o! Machine Eements and Machines5 John
8iey U Sons/ #nc5 011>5
I0;J Srini*asan/ GoDri5 )ehnho!!/ %erry5 Bot 'ead Stress Concentration Factors in
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Loume ;0>/ #ssue >/ pp5>C;.>C=5
I00J Barret/ "ichard %5 Stress Concentration Factors !or Fasteners and Fastener Joints5
American Fastener Journa/ JanFFeb 011B5
I0>J @u/ 'ong/ Theng/ Shan.'e/ Maie/ 7ar5 "esearch on the !atigue.creep rupture o!
!astening bots o! utra.supercritica steam turbine cyinder case5 Proceedings o! the
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I0?J Bou-id/ Abde.'akim5 (echache/ Aki5 %he E!!ect o! Cyinder and 'ub Creep on
the )oad "ea:ation in Boted Fanged Joints5 Journa o! Pressure Lesse %echnoogy5
August 011C/ Loume ;>1/ pp5 1>;0;;.; R 1>;0;;.2
0A
I0BJ (assar/ Sayed A5 Matin/ Payam '5 Camp )oad oss due to Fastener Eongation
Beyond its Eastic )imit5 Journa o! Pressure Lesse %echnoogy5 August 011=/ Loume
;0C/ pp5 >A2.>CA5
I0=J Jaginski/ %5 (imityongsku/ A5 Schmit-/ "5 )akes/ "5 S5 Study o! Bot )oad )oss
in Boted Auminum Joints5 Journa o! Engineering Materia and %echnoogy5 January
011A/ Loume ;02/ pp5 ?C.B?5
I0AJ <ao/ 'ua.%ang5 Tuan/ Fu.Then5 8ang/ Thengdong5 %u/ Shan.%ung$ A "e*ieD o!
Creep Anaysis and 9esign 6nder Muti.A:ia Stress States5 (ucear Engineering and
9esign 0>A G011AH ;2=2 . ;2C=
I0CJ 7enda/ 9a*id P5 Comparison o! Methods !or Cacuating Stress #ntensity Factors
!or %hread o! a Pressure Lesse Cosure and a Gun Breech "ing5 Journa o! Pressure
Lesse %echnoogy5 011>/ Loume ;0B/ pg >0= R >025
I02J A(S# GAmerican (ationa Standards #nstituteH Standards B;5;.;2A?/ B;5B.
;2AA/B;52.;2A>/ B;=5B/ American Society o! Mechanica Engineers/ (eD <ork5
I>1J ASME GAmerican Society o! Mechanica EngineersH Boier and Pressure Lesse
Code/ 011A/ Section ##/ Part 9
I>;J SoidDorks/ *ersion 011C
0C