ANSYS Reaction Forces: How to Use for Calculating Bolt Forces

[Earth_2304]

Hello,

Can the reaction forces at the mounting (fixed) holes of a component in a static structural analysis be used directly to find out the forces acting on the mounting bolts?

If my understanding is correct, the force in the direction in the axis of the bolt will be used to find the tensile force, and the resultant of the other 2 directions will be used for finding out the shear force acting on the bolt.

Any help on this is much appreciated...

Thank you

 

[AlephZero]

That is correct, provided the bolts are stiff relative to the structure.

Otherwise, the flexibility of the bolts themselves will redistribute the loads, and you may need to include the bolts in the FE model.

How important this is also depends on what safety factors are included in your design procedures, of course.