I’m analyzing a bolted assembly and trying to decide how much detail the bolted connections actually need for a trustworthy structural result. The simplifications range from very crude to very expensive, and I’d like to hear how others draw the line.
The options I’m weighing:
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Bonded/rigid connections — fast and stable, but they ignore slip, separation, and the real load path through the joint. Fine for a rough stiffness check, but I’m unsure how far to trust the stresses.
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Simplified bolt representations (beam or spring elements with preload) — a middle ground, but how well does this capture the clamped region and load transfer?
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Full contact with modeled preload — most realistic, captures separation and slip, but expensive and can be tricky to converge.
A few questions:
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For a general strength/stiffness assessment, when is bonded contact “good enough” and when does it seriously mislead?
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When you do model preload, how are you applying it, and does it change your results meaningfully vs. the simplified approach?
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Any practical tips for getting contact-based bolted joints to converge without blowing up solve time?
Trying to match the modeling effort to what the result actually needs, rather than over-modeling every bolt.