Investigation of Fatigue Durability of Bolted Joints of Aircraft Structures in Numerical Simulation in the ANSYS Workbench Software Package
Authors: Lyuminarskiy S.E., Alekseev A.D.
Published in issue: #4(172)/2026
Category: Mechanics | Chapter: Mechanics of Deformable Solid Body
The article is devoted to numerical modeling of bolted joints of aircraft structures in order to assess their fatigue life under combined block-program loading. One of the key tasks in constructing mathematical models is the rational simplification of the geometry of parts without a noticeable deterioration in the accuracy of calculations. This is especially important for bolted joints, because modeling the threads on each bolt is a laborious process and requires a large amount of RAM. As a technique, finite element modeling of a bolted joint in ANSYS Workbench with a simplified representation of the thread is proposed. Five different variants of simulations, differing in geometry and type of contact, were investigated, and the results were compared with a reference model reproducing a full-fledged thread. A calculation model of the bolted connection has been established, which allows us to obtain the most optimal estimate of the calculated durability value. The proposed model has the lowest durability value, which provides an additional margin of safety during design.
EDN RAEYOO
References
[1] Kogaev V.P., Makhutov N.A., Gusenkov A.P. Raschety detaley mashin i konstruktsiy na prochnost i dolgovechnost [Calculations of machine parts and structures for strength and durability]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 1985, 223 p.
[2] Serensen S.V., Kogaev V.P., Schneiderovich R.M. Nesuschaya sposobnost i raschety na prochnost detaley mashin [Load-bearing capacity and strength calculations of machine parts]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 1975, 488 p.
[3] Juvinall R.C., Marshek K.M. Fundamentals of Machine Component Design. Wiley, 2017.
[4] Guchinskiy R.V. Raschet usiliya kontroliruemoy zatyazhki v gruppovom boltovom soedinenii [Calculation of the force of controlled tightening in a group bolted joint]. Vestnik Bryanskogo gosudarstvennogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta — Bulletin of Bryansk State Technical University, 2020, no. 6, pp. 12–21.
[5] Karatushin S.I., Kramova D.A., Bokuchava P.N. Modelirovanie napryazhenno-deformirovannogo sostoyaniya boltovykh soedineniy v srede ANSYS [Simulation of the Stress-Strain State of Bolted Connections in ANSYS]. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedeniy. Mashinostroyenie — BMSTU Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2018, no. 8, pp. 11–18. DOI: 10.18698/0536-1044-2018-8-11-18
[6] Eremin V. P., Bolshikh A. A. Globalno-lokalnoe modelirovanie odnosreznykh boltovykh soedineniy tipa kompozit — metall i kompozit — kompozit v konstruktivnykh silovykh elementakh samoleta [Global-local modeling of single-shear composite – metal and composite – composite bolt joints in aircraft structural components]. Inzhenerny zhurnal: nauka i innovatsii — Engineering Journal: Science and Innovation, 2020, iss. 5. https://doi.org/10.18698/2308-6033-2020-5-1981 Available at: https://engjournal.bmstu.ru/catalog/arse/dcpa/1981.html
[7] Strizhius V.E. Metody rascheta ustalostnoy dolgovechnosti elementov aviakonstruktsii [Methods for calculating fatigue life of aircraft structural elements]. Reference book. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 2012, 272 p.
[8] Zhao P., Liu J., Gong H., Xue F. Study on tightening, anti-loosening, and fatigue resistance performances of bolted joints with different anti-loosening washers and nuts. Applied Sciences, vol. 13, no. 24, p. 13253, Dec. 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/app132413253
[9] Pyskunov S.O., et al. Analysis of the stress state of the bolted connection taking into account the bolt tension. Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures, 2024, no. 113, pp. 37–44.
[10] Sun W., et al. Modeling of preload bolted flange connection structure for loosening analysis and detection. Shock and Vibration, 2022, vol. 2022, pp. 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/8812012
[11] Sun G., Belyaeva Z.V., Mironova L.I. Calculation of stress concentration factor in bolts of beam-column connections. Bulletin of Civil Engineering, 2024, no. 6 (107), pp. 61–67. https://doi.org/10.23968/1999-5571-2024-21-6-61-67
[12] Correia J.A.F.D.O., Pedrosa B.A.S., Raposo P.C., De Jesus A.M.P., dos Santos Gervásio H.M., Lesiuk G.S., da Silva Rebelo C.A., Calçada R.A.B., da Silva L.A.P.S. Fatigue strength evaluation of resin-injected bolts connections using statistical analysis. Engineering, 2017, vol. 3, iss. 6, pp. 795–805.
[13] Vorobiev A.Z., Olkin B.I., Stebenev V.N. et al. Soprotivlenie ustalosti elementov konstruktsiy [Fatigue resistance of structural elements]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 1990. 240 p.