Finite element analysis of bolted joint assembly of nuclear power plants

摘要

Bolted joint assembly for nuclear power plants consists of various components cover plate, retainer plate, manway flange, gasket and stud bolts/nuts. To guarantee the soundness of the joint, it is important to prevent leakage through the gasketand reduce the stress concentration factor at the thread root. In this paper, Submodeling technique for the finite element method is proposed to accurately compute three dimensional contact stresses which govern the sealing performance and the maximumcontact stresses at the threads root. For verification of global solutions used as boundary conditions of submodel solution, the stresses on the cover plate and the manway flange are measured by strain gages when internal pressure is applied to the bolted joint assembly. The numerical results are compared with the experimental results.