An investigation into the anti-releasing performance of a serrated bolt

As the sizes of electric products, such as mobile phones and watch phones, decrease, the joining bolt for the electric product should also be miniaturized. However, the miniature-sized bolt has to support sufficient joining torque and joining force. The bolt also has to support sufficient anti-releasing torque to keep the product fastened. We investigated a serrated bolt as a candidate for a miniature-sized fastener to increase the anti-release torque. In the serrated bolt, serration shapes are formed on the bottom surface of a bolt head to create an obstacle to releasing. In this study, finite element analyses were carried out on joining and releasing, and the anti-release torque was predicted. Through the joining and releasing analyses for various values of the elastic modulus and yield strength of the joined part, the effect of the mechanical properties of the joined part on the anti-releasing performance were investigated. The analysis results showed that a high strength insert nut is needed to increase the anti-releasing torque when the yield strength of the joined part is low, such as a plastic board in a mobile phone.