Stiffness Improvement of Bolted Joint -Uniformization of Contact Pressure Distribution-

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to improve the stiffness of the bolted joint by means of uniforming the contact pressure distribution. Two plane surfaces of the conventional bolted joint have produced ununiformity of the contact pressure distribution and have caused decrease of the stiffness. In this paper, shape modification of bolted surfaces was performed in simulation by the finite element method and in experiments so that the pressure distribution is uniform. Moreover, grinding simulation by the finite element method estimated optimum grinding conditions for adopting a unique method to modify the surface. The measurements of the contact pressure between the modified plate and the plane base were performed and showed considerable decrease of the maximum pressure. © 1999, The Japan Society for Precision Engineering. All rights reserved.