MEMBER STIFFNESS AND CONTRACT PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION OF BOLTED JOINTS

Member stiffnesses and the stress distributions in the bolts and membe rs of bolted joints have been calculated for various bolt sizes, as we ll as thicknesses and materials of the members. The finite element met hod has been used to calculate the displacements and the stress distri butions in the components of the bolted joint. Using axisymmetric elem ents, the bolted joint could be analyzed as a two-dimensional problem. Member stiffness ratios were calculated from the finite element resul ts and compared with those calculated by a commonly used theory. The v alues were approximately comparable (16-30 percent difference) for the assumptions under which the theory was applied. Formulas and dimensio nless curves which can be used to estimate the member stiffness ratios for several kinds of bolted joints are presented.