Abstract
Bolt-nut fasteners are widely used in mechanical structures due to the systems' ease of disassembly for maintenance and their relatively low cost. However, vibration-induced loosening has remained problematic. In this paper, we investigated the mechanisms of the loosening process due to micro bearing-surface slip within the framework of the three-dimensional finite element method (FEM). The results show close agreement with Kasei's experimental results. It is found that the early-stage nut rotation observed experimentally originates from simultaneous bolt-nut rotation induced by the tightening torsion of the bolt and does not correspond to loosening rotation. Therefore, loosening rotation should be defined by the relative rotation angle of the nut with respect to the bolt. It is also found that small loosening is initiated when the vibration force reaches about 50 to 60% of the critical loading necessary for bearing-surface slip. Attention should be paid to the contact state of both bearing and thread surfaces when considering the loosening of bolt-nut tightening systems. Contact states can be classified into three types: complete slip involving no sticking region, micro slip involving no constant-sticking region over a vibration cycle, and localized slip involving a constant-sticking region over a vibration cycle. It is also found that loosening rotation can proceed when either micro slip or complete slip occurs at both the thread and bearing contact surfaces.
