Strains in an Elastic Plate Containing an Interference-Fit Bolt near a Free Edge

Abstract : Uncertainties in the stress/strain fields around the Taper-Lok interference-fit fasteners used in the F-111C aircraft led to the experimental work reported here. Whereas solutions for elastic stress and strain fields around a hole containing an interference fastener in a large plate are readily available, the presence of nearby boundaries causes considerable theoretical difficulty. For the present case of a hole near the edge of a semi-infinite plate containing an interference-fit fastener, an approximation has been developed from the exact, related elastic theory for a pressurized hole in a geometrically similar plate. Strains predicted from this theory have been compared with measured experimental strains.