Dynamic properties of filled bolted joints

Bolted joints have a significant effect on the dynamic properties of assembled structures such as damping and dynamic stiffness. The dynamic properties of a bolted joint can be changed by filling joints with an adhesive material. In the article, the changes in dynamic properties caused by the filling of a bolted joint with different types of material were studied. Joint's damping and its natural frequencies estimation were made using stochastic subspace identification method; estimation of joint stiffness was made using the finite element model updating method based on sensitivity coefficient calculation. The initial value of contact stiffness was obtained by simulation using the finite element method. The results of experiments showed that usage of bitumen rubber mastic has increased the damping of the specimen from 0.57% to 0.96% without any losses in stiffness, which allows to decrease the vibration amplitude almost by 4 times. In contrast, the usage of epoxy resin and anaerobic threadlocker significantly increase the stiffness of a joint.