Danfoss

Long Bolts - Burst Pressure Performance

Description of the company

Danfoss is a Danish multinational company founded in 1933. It is a world-leading supplier of technologies for several industries, including refrigeration, air conditioning, heating, and motor control. The company's products are used in a wide variety of applications, from residential homes to commercial buildings and industrial facilities. Danfoss is committed to developing energy-efficient technologies that help to reduce emissions and lower energy consumption. The company has over 40,000 employees worldwide and operates in more than 100 countries.

Situation

Within a filter drier project, a ball valve solution is currently under development. To meet geometric and assembly requirements, the proposed design incorporates long bolts in the bolted joint assembly.

As this configuration deviates from more conventional bolt proportions, its mechanical behavior under burst pressure loading has not yet been systematically evaluated. At the same time, physical testing is not feasible due to cost constraints.

The project therefore begins with a new design configuration whose structural performance must be assessed using analytical and numerical methods.

Problem

The introduction of long bolts in a burst-pressure-loaded assembly raises fundamental questions regarding their mechanical influence on joint performance. In particular, it is unclear whether increased bolt length affects burst pressure resistance, induces critical bending behavior, or alters the interaction of key design parameters.

Without a structured investigation, the mechanical robustness of the proposed configuration cannot be reliably assessed, and informed design decisions cannot be made. A systematic analytical and numerical study is therefore required to quantify the influence of bolt length and identify the most relevant parameters.

Aims of the project

The project aims to:

• Investigate the influence of long bolts on bolted joint assemblies subjected to burst pressure
• Identify the most influential parameters via a design of experiments
• Provide guidance on how to proceed with such designs in the future

Scopes

This project is defined as an analytical and numerical study of bolted joint assemblies with long bolts subjected to burst pressure loading.

The investigation is limited to:

• One defined burst pressure criteria as the target parameter
• A focused parameter study of:
  • Bolt length
  • Bolt material
  • Embedding effects

Other influencing factors (e.g., bolt diameter, bolt number, friction during tightening) are acknowledged but are not varied systematically within the scope of this study.

The objective is not to deliver a finalized design, but to generate structured insight into the mechanical influence of long bolts and embedding on joint behavior under burst pressure.

• A full report documenting the findings.

Target group (students)

The project is intended for Bachelor students from any of the following programs:

• Maschinenbau
• Schiffbau
• Bau- und Umweltingenieurwesen
• Allgemeine Ingenieurwissenschaften
• Engineering Science (Major: Mechanical Engineering)
• Engineering Science (Major: Advanced Materials, Data Science)

Skills and prior experience

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Motivation to work in a collaborative, multicultural environment
• Good communication skills in English
• Experience with CAD
• Familiarity with Ansys for FEA-based simulations is a plus.

Dates
Please save these dates: Fishing for Experience Termine

Registration
You can apply for Fishing for Experience online.