Prediction of fatigue performance of fastener holes with bolt clamping force based on critical plane approach

In the present study, a series of fatigue tests are conducted on aluminum alloy 2024 to investigate fatigue behavior of fastener holes in reverse double bone specimens. With reference to the finite element results, the fatigue lives of fastener holes in reverse double bone are predicted based on critical plane approaches, including Smith–Watson–Topper (SWT) model and Wang–Brown (WB) model. After that, the predicted values are compared with that from tests. At last, under different far field stress levels, the effect of bolt clamping force on fatigue life of fastener holes is predicted based on the aforementioned two models. The results show that the SWT approach achieves a better accuracy than the WB approach for high cycle fatigue (HCF) while the opposite holds for low cycle fatigue (LCF). The fatigue life of fastener holes decreases with the increase of bolt clamping force.