In bolted joints, bolts are tightened to a uniform preload in order to improve their operational behavior. This preload is not easy to achieve due to several phenomena that occur during the tightening sequence; in the case of wind generator bolted joints, which present a gap between the contact surfaces of the flanges, the elastic interaction is by far the most prejudicial of them. As a consequence, the tightening sequence is very costly, typically consisting on a large number of passes. Based on a metamodel created in previous work, this work presents methodology for the optimization of the tightening sequence, which consists on calculating the load to be applied to each bolt so as to achieve the target uniform preload at the end of the sequence in only one pass or two at the most. This methodology is based on optimization methods used for pressure vessel bolted joints has provided satisfactory results (validated via FE analyses) with a very low computational cost.
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December 2014
Research-Article
Methodology for the Optimization of Bolting Sequences for Wind Generator Flanges
Mikel Abasolo,
Mikel Abasolo
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
ETSI-BILBAO,
e-mail: mikel.abasolo@ehu.es
ETSI-BILBAO,
University of the Basque Country
,Bilbao 48013
, Spain
e-mail: mikel.abasolo@ehu.es
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Josu Aguirrebeitia,
Josu Aguirrebeitia
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
ETSI-BILBAO,
ETSI-BILBAO,
University of the Basque Country
,Bilbao 48013
, Spain
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Rafael Avilés,
Rafael Avilés
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
ETSI-BILBAO,
ETSI-BILBAO,
University of the Basque Country
,Bilbao 48013
, Spain
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Igor Fernández de Bustos
Igor Fernández de Bustos
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
ETSI-BILBAO,
ETSI-BILBAO,
University of the Basque Country
,Bilbao 48013
, Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
Mikel Abasolo
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
ETSI-BILBAO,
e-mail: mikel.abasolo@ehu.es
ETSI-BILBAO,
University of the Basque Country
,Bilbao 48013
, Spain
e-mail: mikel.abasolo@ehu.es
Josu Aguirrebeitia
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
ETSI-BILBAO,
ETSI-BILBAO,
University of the Basque Country
,Bilbao 48013
, Spain
Rafael Avilés
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
ETSI-BILBAO,
ETSI-BILBAO,
University of the Basque Country
,Bilbao 48013
, Spain
Igor Fernández de Bustos
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
ETSI-BILBAO,
ETSI-BILBAO,
University of the Basque Country
,Bilbao 48013
, Spain
Contributed by the Pressure Vessel and Piping Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF PRESSURE VESSEL TECHNOLOGY. Manuscript received April 30, 2012; final manuscript received May 2, 2014; published online September 4, 2014. Assoc. Editor: Hakim A. Bouzid.
J. Pressure Vessel Technol. Dec 2014, 136(6): 061202 (13 pages)
Published Online: September 4, 2014
Article history
Received:
April 30, 2012
Revision Received:
May 2, 2014
Citation
Abasolo, M., Aguirrebeitia, J., Avilés, R., and Fernández de Bustos, I. (September 4, 2014). "Methodology for the Optimization of Bolting Sequences for Wind Generator Flanges." ASME. J. Pressure Vessel Technol. December 2014; 136(6): 061202. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4027597
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