Self-loosening of bolted L-stub connections under a cyclic separating load

This paper presents a combined experimental and numerical study on bolted L-stub connections under simultaneous bending and axial excitation from a cyclic separating load, which has not been reported in the open literatures. The reduction of the clamping force is found from experiments. Additionally, the thread damage is analysed using an optical microscope, a white light interferometer, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The effects of the eccentricity, the excitation level and the initial clamping force on the reduction of clamping force and the damage of threads are also studied in experiments. It is found from the experimental results that the degrees of the thread damage and self-loosening increase with the increases of the excitation level and the eccentricity, and they decrease with the increasing initial clamping force. A three-dimensional finite element model is created to analyse the contact stress and the relative slip between the threads of the bolt and the nut, and the finite element results agree with the experimental measurements.