Threaded Joints & Bolt
Loading
Types of
Threaded
Joints
• Bolted Joints
• Screw Joint
• Stud Joint
• Threaded joint is defined as a separable joint of two or more
machine parts that are held together by means of a threaded
fastening such as a bolt and a nut.
• The salient features of this definition are as follows:
Threaded joints are used to hold two or more machine parts
together. These parts can be dismantled, if required,
without any damage to machine parts or fastening.
Therefore. threaded joints are detachable joints, unlike welded
joints.
Thread is the basic clement of these joints. The thread is formed
by cutting a helical groove on the surface of a cylindrical rod or
cylindrical hole. The threaded element can take the shape of bolt
and nut, screw or stud. Sometimes, threads are cut on the parts to
be joined.
Over 60% of
parts have
threads. Why
are they
extensively
used?
Spring Analogy of a Bolted Joint
Assuming the assembly is bolted with a bolt preload of F p and an external load F eis
applied..
Joint separation will occur when Fe = F (total load on the bolt) .. i.e when no load is
being taken by the joint
For an infinitely stiff bolt, separation will never occur as all of the external load will be
applied directly to the bolt with no resulting extension..
For a infinitely stiff joint separation will take place when the external load exceeds the
preload.
On application of an external force F e. Some of the force will used to increase the
preload on the bolt and some will be used to reduce the loading on the joint . The bolt
loading diagram below shows the loading regime on the bolt and joint
To help visualise the loading within bolted connections, joint diagrams have
been developed. A joint diagram is a means of displaying the load deflection
characteristics of the bolt and the material that it clamps. Joint diagrams can
be used to assist in visualising how a bolted joint sustains an external force
and why the bolt does not sustain the whole of this force.
When an External Load is applied
•The determination of the proportion of the load taken by the
bolt and by the joint is calculated using the component
stiffness values.
•The stiffness is effectively the same as the Spring Rate ..
•Stiffness = k = F / δ
The stiffness of the bolt results from the stiffness of the bolt shank
(dia ds ) and the stiffness of the bolt thread (root dia dr ).
The length used to calculate the shank stiffness = L se = L s + 0,4d s
The length used for the threaded length section = = L te = L t + 0,4d r
Joint Stiffness
Note: It is very difficult to calculated the stiffness of a joint e.g one
based on holes drilled in a plate. A rough approximation can be
made by assuming joint is an annulus with and OD of 2,5 times the
bolt dia and an ID = bolt diameter.
Additional notes on evaluating the joint stiffness are provided on
page Joint Stiffness
The relationship E = stress /strain = σ /e is used to determine the
stiffness of a section .
Stiffness Considerations
The relationship E = stress /strain = σ /e is used to determine the
stiffness of a bolt.
Stress = Force (F) /Area (A) and strain = Deflection (δ) / Length (L)
E = (F/A) /(δ/L) Therefore δ = FL/EA .
If the bolt length clamping the joint includes a number of different
sections, then the resulting stiffness is determined using the
relationship .
To allow for a certain degree of elasticity of the bolt head and nut a
correction factor is often used modify the length used in the stiffness
calculations as shown below..
Calculation of Load Distribution using Bolt/Joint Stiffness
A joint preloaded with a force Fp is then subject to an additional load Fe which tends to separate the
joint. The resulting deflection of the joint and bolt are the same providing that F e is less than the
separation force.
and the total force on the joint =
Separation would occur when
Following application of the external force the
resulting total force on the bolt
Resultant Bolt Fbe
Load
Fe (Fe – Fbe)=
Fce
Fp = Fe – Fbe + X
Fp
Separation will occur
when
X At the point of
separation
Extension /
Compression
This result how much preload should be applied to result
an expected external load Fe
Importance of Bolt Load
Analysis
• To bear the external load before separation, the preload
to be set can be calculated.
• For a given application, wherein the external load is
predetermined, the nominal diameter of the bolt sizes
can be calculated by knowing the material properties.
A more accurate value can be determined using the
formula
T = Total torque applied at the mean thread diameter
and move the load and the torque at the friction radius Next section will be dealt
to overcome the collar friction. with this formula under
Power Screws
Bolt Load ()
Explain the Graphical
Presentation
𝐹 𝑝
450
Externally
applied load ( Fe)
Eccentrically Loaded Bolted Joints
Eccentric Bolt Loading Perpendicular
to the bolt axis
