Fatigue and fretting fatigue life prediction of double-lap bolted joints using continuum damage mechanics-based approach

Fatigue and fretting fatigue are the main failure mode in bolted joints when subjected to cyclic load. Based on continuum damage mechanics, an elastic-plastic fatigue damage model and a fretting fatigue damage model are combined to evaluate the fatigue property of bolted joints to cover the two different failure modes arisen at two possible critical sites. The predicted fatigue lives agree well with the experimental results available in the literature. The beneficial effects of clamping force on fatigue life improvement of the bolted joint are revealed: part of the load is transmitted by friction force in the contact interface, and the stress amplitude at the critical position is decreased due to the reduction in the force transmitted by the bolt. The negative effect of fretting damage on the bolted joint is also captured in the simulation.