Engineering Commons^™

Analysis Of Preload In Bolted Joints Under Impulse, Albert Dusseault

Thinking Matters Symposium

From transportation to storage to construction, bolted joints are utilized everywhere. Bolted joints in closures such as pressure vessels/tanks require a preload, or a specific amount of tightening of the bolts to seal the vessel when pressurized to avoid leaking. Low preload can result in joint loosening whereas high preload can result in yielding. Therefore, finding feasible and even better optimal values of preload is of great practical importance. In an earlier work in 1996, this problem was tackled with an exponentially decaying pressure applied on a pressure vessel closure. In the present analysis, however, the pressure variation is considered …