Abstract
The force-deformation diagram has been used to understand the mechanical behavior of a bolted joint. There are, however, no report on the force-deformation diagram of multi-bolted joint. In this paper the author's finite element method using spring-beam elements is applied to construct the force-deformation diagram of multi-bolted joint as well as single-bolted joint. The force-deformation diagram of multi-bolted joint is expressed as the relationship between the sum of axial tension in each bolt and the expansion of a bolt. Using this diagram, not noly the relationship between axial tension and expansion of each bolt but also the relationship between compression and reaction in the contact surface produced by the lever action can be obtained for any applied load.
