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Bolt Preloading
Bolt preloading notes.... Stiffness..... Calculating Thermal loading... Calculating initial bolt tension.....
Shear load developed in tightening bolts.... Methods of setting bolt preload.... Table showing Accuracy of Bolt tensioning methods
Introduction
Calculating bolt loads is complicated if done correctly. The notes below are very limited and are reasonable for none critical
applications. There are lots of specialists in this field as identified in the links on this page and on the screw index page. These notes do
not include for fatigue loading, determination of stiffness of joint, joint settlement, load application factors.etc etc.
It should also be noted that the bolt torque required, to achieve the same bolt stress levels, increases greatly as the bolt size increases
3
(torque = c. d ). Therefore for larger bolts very high torques are required and used of specialist bolt tensioning systems such as the
"Superbolt multi-jackbolt" option should be considered.
Nomenclat ure
It is accepted that a bolt preloaded to a fixed value is safer than a bolt simply tightened to an arbitrary value. A preload of about 80% of
the proof strength of the bolt material is normally used.
Assume a bolt is used to clamp a joint to a set preload value and the bolt has a low stiffness and the joint has a very high stiffness. An
external load is applied to tend separate the joint. Part of this load will cause the further extension of the bolt (increase in bolt load). Part
of the load will result in an increase of the joint thickness reducing of the compressive load on the joint. e.g. If the preload has resulted
from a stretching of the bolt of 1mm and a compression of the joint by only 0.01mm then an external load sufficient to achieve joint
separation will only increase on loading of the bolt by about 0,01mm/1mm (1%) x preload .
It is clear?? from this example that using longer small diameter bolts to clamp surfaces results in relatively uniform bolt loading under
varying external forces with reduced risk of fatigue loading.
Assuming the assembly is bolted with a bolt preload of Fp and an external load F eis applied..
Joint separation will occur when Fe = F (total load on the bolt) .. i.e when no load is being taken by the joint
For an infinitely stiff bolt, separation will never occur as all of the external load will be applied directly to the bolt with no resulting extension..
For a infinitely stiff joint separation will take place when the external load exceeds the preload.
On application of an external force Fe. Some of the force will used to increase the preload on the bolt and some will be used to reduce
the loading on the joint . The bolt loading diagram below shows the loading regime on the bolt and joint
The determination of the proportion of the load taken by the bolt and by the joint is calculated using the component stiffness values.
The stiffness is effectively the same as the Spring Rate ..
Stiffness = k = F / δ
Bolt stiffness
If the bolt length clamping the joint includes a number of different sections then the resulting stiffness is determined using the relationship
.
To allow for a certain degree of elasticity of the bolt head and nut a correction factor is often used modify the length used in the stiffness
calculations as shown below..
The stiffness of the bolt results from the stiffness of the bolt shank (dia ds ) and the stiffness of the bolt thread (root dia dr ).
The length used to calculate the shank stiffness = L se = L s + 0,4d s
The length used for the threaded length section = = L te = L t + 0,4d r
Joint Stiffness
Note: It is very difficult to calculated the stiffness of a joint e.g one based on holes drilled in a plate. A rough approximation can be made
by assuming joint is an annulus with and OD of 2,5 times the bolt dia and an ID = bolt diameter.
Additional notes on evaluating the joint stiffness are provided on page Joint Stiffness
The mitcalc software (links below) is useful for obtaining a stiffness value of a joint.
A joint preloaded with a force Fp is then subject to an additional load Fe which tends to separate the joint. The resulting deflection of the
joint and bolt are the same providing that Fe is less than the separation force.
It follows that
Following application of the external force the resulting total force on the bolt =
Thermal Loading
If all of the materials of the joint and the bolt are the same then any changes in temperature will have negligible effect of the joint
loadings. However if the joint materials have coefficients of thermal expansion different to the bolt material changes in the joint loading
result from changes in temperature...
The initial tension in a bolt is crudely estimated for a bolt tightened by hand by an experienced mechanic as follows. The tension resulting
from this equation would be reasonable safe for M8- 8,8 grade bolts and above.
Fp = K*d
For a bolt tightened with a torque wrench the torque required to provide an initial bolt tension may be approximated by the formula..
T = Fp * K * d
Typical K factors
Note: Relevant formulea for calculating Power thread torques and efficiencies are derived on webpage Power Screw Equations
Note: Friction values are found on this site on the coefficient of friction page..Coefficient of Friction
It can be proved that the majority of the torque is required to overcome the thread and collar friction forces (approx 90%). Therefore any
error in the value of the friction coefficient will have a large variation on the bolt tensile load. The above formula is in essence not a lot
more accurate than the approximate formulae above.
Note:
A very simplified version of this formula can be derive by assuming µc = µ , d m = 0.92 d , α = 30o . rc = 0.625 d.
If the denominator is simplified to π.dm The equation reduces to
This provides a very crude relationship between the torque and the resulting bolt tension for a standard hex screw with no washer..
For important bolting applications it is recommended that the bolt preload is is determined using direct bolt tension measuring techniques -
see notes below.
In tightening a bolt stress is induced as a result of the bolt tension and bolt torque.. The combined resulting shear stress is calculated as
follows
This formula is relatively conservative. For less conservative designs A r can be replaced by A t as defined on page Thread calcs
and d r can be replaced by d t = Sqrt( 4.A t /π )
In general for static loading, the maximum shear stress in a bolt should not exceed about 75% of the shear yield stress of the material. For
variable loading the bolt should be designed for endurance stress levels. Bolts subject to dynamic loading often lose their initial torsion
stress because the nut/bolt head tends to slip back if the collar friction is not sufficient.
High strength friction grip bolts and nuts require to be tensioned in accordance with BS 4604 which specifies min. loads to be achieved
(see Table 1). It also specifies three methods of determining bolt tension, i.e.:
i) Torque Control
ii) Part Turn of Nut
iii) Direct Tension Measurement
Torque Wrench
This method is sometimes known erroneously as "torque control". The bolts are tensioned in a tension calibrator on the site. The wrench
is then set to cut out at that torque (the wrench becomes "calibrated"), and then all similar bolts that day are installed to that torque after
the joint is snugged first. Rotation during the tightening process must be limited to a specific value. Actual results of tension in bolts
produced by this method are acknowledged to be highly variable, even when this method is followed exactly.
Turn Of Nut
After snugging the joint, the bolt shank and nut is marked and then a specific amount of rotation is induced between the nut and the bolt.
The amount of rotation differs for different bolt lengths and diameters and therefore must be known and understood by the bolt installers
in advance. The success of the method is dependent on a correct snugging of the joint, and is dependent on the bolt head being held
from turning so the bolt does not spin in the hole.
Note: Turn-of-nut does not work correctly when the steel surfaces are coated with a compressible coating such as high paint thickness or
hot dipped galvanized zinc.
Note:
Using heat is based on heating the bolt(and nut) to a set temperature. The bolt is inserted quickly and the nut tightened snugly. The bolt
is then allowed to cool and the contraction results in the required tension. If a tension Fp is required for a bolt with a CSA of Ab then the
required bolt stress is calculated σ= F p / Ab
The bolt is heated to a temperature of
T = [σ /(E.e)] + T o
E= Youngs Modulus (N/m2 )....e = Coefficient of thermal expansion (m/m)/deg.C....To = ambient temperature (deg. C)
This method is very difficult to implement the bolt has to be heated while the bolted joint has to be kept at ambient temperature. The
accuracy of the heating method is very much limited by quality of the procedure followed.
Hydraulic bolt tensioners use an annular hydraulic jack placed around the screw, stretching it axially. When the required stress level is
reached, the nut is tightened snugly and then the pressure released, resulting in a preloaded bolt without any frictional or torsional
stresses.
The hydraulic method can provide very accurate preload (+/- 1%) on long bolts but it is less accurate on short bolts.
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