Abstract
The stiffness of an engineering structure with joints depends not only on the materials and dimensions of the structure but also on the stiffness of the fasteners that connect its components. To evaluate the mechanical behaviour of a complex structure with bolted joints, we first developed a simple finite element (FE) modelling technique that was simplified by using shell and beam elements and accounts for the effect of the stiffness of jointed plates and bolts. In evaluating the mechanical behaviour, we also need a method for evaluating the strength of bolt joints from the results of FE analysis. In this study, we have developed a strength evaluation method for the beam forces of FE analysis by considering the mechanics of bolt joints. This method can be used to evaluate static failure and fatigue failure of bolts and slip on clamped plates and bearing surfaces. We can easily evaluate the strength of bolt joints of industrial products with many bolted joints by using this method.
