Multibody Simulation of Impact Wrench for Reliability Analysis in Impact-Tightened Bolted Joints

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SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONSBolt preload force variability due to uncertainties in friction of bolted joints and variabilities in torque impulses during impact wrench tightening affects joint reliability, potentially leading to failures, increased maintenance costs, and safety risks in critical applications. Understanding and minimizing these preload uncertainties are essential for improving the reliability of bolted joint assemblies. However, existing models lack sufficient accuracy in simulating torque impulses, limiting their use in reliability-focused analysis. A multibody simulation model of an impact wrench is developed and implemented in MATLAB Simulink, enabling the analysis of torque impulses. The nonlinear impact and contact events, coupled with the rotational and translational motions of all components, are explicitly analyzed, and systematic parametric identification is performed. The measured variable is the torque impulse applied by the impact wrench during the tightening process. The results demonstrate that the simulated torque impulses closely match experimental data for single impulses, confirming the model's validity for single impulses. However, deviations in multi-impulse scenarios suggest that further tuning is necessary to improve overall predictive accuracy. Additionally, the stiffness of the test bench is shown to significantly influence parameterization, highlighting a key source of variability in preload prediction. Despite these limitations, the model reliably captures the core mechanical interactions. Future work will focus on optimizing model parameters and employing more representative test setups to improve preload prediction accuracy in real bolted joint applications. Such validated models could serve as tools for reliability-informed design and tightening process optimization.

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