Ultrasonic Measurement of Contact Pressure of Bolted Joint Interface

Bolt joint connection is one of the most widely used connection method in the entire industrial technology field. The pressure distribution of the bolted joint interface, directly affect the performances of the bolted connection structure such as stiffness and sealing. Therefore, non-destructive measurement of the contact pressure on the bolted interface is of great significance. Ultrasonic methods can achieve non-destructive testing of the contact pressure of the jointed interface. However, this method relies on the experimental calibration of the ultrasonic reflection coefficient and contact pressure. How to optimize the calibration method has become a key issue affecting the detection of contact pressure. In this paper, an uncalibrated contact pressure measurement method based on ultrasound for bolted interface is developed. The contact pressure obtained by different calibration methods is compared. According to the comparison results, the calibration method of ultrasonic contact pressure measurement of bolted connection interface is optimized, so as to improve the detection accuracy of contact pressure. The experimental results show that the reflection coefficient-contact pressure curve constructed by calibration experiment can obtain more accurate contact pressure.