Session: CT-01-01 Design and Analysis of Bolted Flange Joints

Paper Number: 62497

Start Time: Thursday, July 15, 2021, 09:00 AM

62497 - Self-Loosening Behavior of the Nut Due to Tension Change Considering the Inclination of Bearing Surface 

Self-loosening behavior is a topic which many researchers are tackling and the principle is coming clearer. Self-loosening occurs mainly when transverse load is applied to the bolt/nut system and the loosening also occurs when such other loads are applied as impact of the bolt (NAS3350 test type) or temperature difference between bolt and nut. The author reproduced the phenomena by using finite element analyses and found the self-loosening is caused by radial relative displacement between bolt and nut threads.

On the other hand, some researchers say the self-loosening occur when the tension changes repeatedly while others say it doesn’t. This axial force phenomenon is not yet clear even in experiment.

In this paper, the self-loosening phenomenon by the tension change is examined using Finite Element Analyses. The results show that the self-loosening depends on the inclination of the bearing surface. The loosening does not occur when the inclination of the bearing surface is small enough and it occurs when the inclination is large.

As the inclination of the bolt head and nut is allowed within the engineering tolerance and flanges rotate when it fastened making the bolt head or nut bearing surface inclination, the self-loosening may happen for any bolts in nature if tension changes repeatedly

Presenting Author: Yasumasa Shoji YS Corporation LLC

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