A study on residual bolt tension and slip strength of the high-strength bolted friction joints after 27 years of service

Abstract

In this study, the authors measured the residual bolt tension and slip strength on the replaced brackets to investigate the performance of the high-strength bolted friction joints after 27 years of service. The results showed that the residual bolt tension of the paint-undamaged specimen was slightly lower than the design bolt tension, but less than half of the design bolt tension. In addition, the slip coefficient of the paint-damaged specimens is about 50% lower than the paint-undamaged specimen. It is due to changes in the faying surface's paint film thickness and roughness due to damage.