Bolted Joint Analysis
Almost every manufactured device and component contains at least one bolted joint. Despite their popularity, bolted joints are much more complex than meets the eye and are commonly misunderstood by the average lay person and, at times, engineers. A bolted joint is not as simple as a staple joining two pieces of paper but is made up of compressive and tensile stresses that produce a joint that can resist fatigue crack initiation in both the bolt and the joint, as well as resist loosening over time. Factors that frequently come into play are bolt size, torque, pre-load, material thickness, thread pitch, and joint type. Fusion Engineering’s engineers not only understand bolt joint terminology but more importantly, they know how to apply it to any bolted joint system.
Some of our representative experience with bolted joints includes but is not limited to:
- Mobile crane truck mounting platforms
- Tower crane rotator ring joints
- Elevator brake joints
- Car and truck lug nut systems
- Truck engine accessory mount joints
- Bus passenger access door joint
- Piping flange joints
- Elastomer gasketed joints
