The bolted joint is a very popular method of fastening together different components and one of the most important factors of machine design. Any mechanical failure of the bolted joint in rail industries can affect their financial, safety, and public confidence. In this paper, the primary objective was to create a bolted joint model to analyze the behavior of the turbocharger inlet bolted joint on a GE Transportation engine under room and working temperature. Theoretical and computational analyses investigations have been undertaken to determine the behavior of a turbocharger inlet bolted joint at room and working temperature based on VDI 2230 Part 1 and SR1+ program. Also, the reliability and validity of turbocharger inlet bolts were evaluated depending on their safety factors. A computational analysis has been performed for both structural and thermo structural loads that applied to the turbocharger inlet bolted joint.
The results obtained show that the stresses on the bolted joint increased 25% at working temperature. Also, the strength of the bolted joint has a direct relationship with amount of tightening torque applied to the bolt while the position of the bolts has a major effect on the behavior of the bolted joint. In addition, the analysis showed that the turbocharger inlet bolted joint behaved differently depending on the loads type. The study also confirmed that the preliminary design had reduced margin at working temperature, and additional design modifications were required. It was determined that the loosening of the bolted joint and insufficient preload were the main reasons of failure.
