Experimental, Software and Topological Optimization Study of Unpredictable Forces in Bolted Connections

Abstract

Bolts cannot be loaded axially according to real field conditions in assembly lines. The main reasons for this are that the loads cannot be applied centred due to the plate thickness and the holes are wider than the bolt. This creates a change in the shear loads on the plate connections due to the moment. Therefore, in this study, a software including additional equations has been developed to reveal the moment formation which the bolts are exposed to. This program, prepared in Matlab software, first determines whether the material properties and thickness of the plate can withstand this tensile force when two bolt-connected plates are subjected to tensile force. If the plate is resistant to these tensile forces, the calculation is continued and the maximum shear stress on the bolts is calculated. For the experimental study, 5 samples with M6 bolt connections were prepared and tensile tests were carried out. The accuracy was measured by comparing the software result with the tensile tests and the finite element analysis results made in the Ansys program. In addition, a method for topology optimization is presented in order to improve the position of the connections on the plate.

Keywords

• bolt
• finite element
• matlab
• optimization
• software