Fatigue Life Evaluation of Vehicle Wheel Bolts under Random Loading

The fatigue life of hexagon head and socket head bolts, attached to vehicle a wheel, is assessed and the estimation of the residual life of existing bolts in vehicle wheel is investigated. Field- measured load histories were applied in this test. Tensile tests and fatigue tests were performed to evaluate the effect of tightening torque and to obtain the basic experimental data. A three-dimensional finite element analysis was also performed to evaluate the local stress fields. Miner’s rule was used to predict the fatigue life of bolts. The results indicate the prediction of fatigue life of the bolts was in good agreement with the real life of vehicle wheel bolts in this test.