Study of the Effect of Hole Clearance and Thread Fit on the Self-Loosening of Threaded Fasteners

This study provides an experimental and theoretical investigation of the effect of hole clearance and thread fit on the self-loosening of tightened threaded fasteners that are subjected to a cyclic transverse service load. An experimental procedure and test setup are developed in order to collect real-time data on the rate of clamp load loss per cycle as well as the loosening rotation of the bolt head. Three levels of hole clearance are investigated; namely, 3%, 6%, and 10% of the bolt nominal diameter. For the commonly used 2A thread fit for a selected bolt size, three classes of the nut thread fit are considered; namely, 1B, 2B, and 3B. A simplified mathematical model is used for the analytical investigation of the effect of the hole clearance and thread fit on threaded fasteners self-loosening. The experimental and theoretical results are presented and discussed.