Characterization of the torque limits and clamping force relationships for small stainless steel screws in tensile loaded joints of various metals
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
This study originated during the design of ChemCam, a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and imaging instrument being developed for NASA's Mars Science Lab Rover. The mission needs for miniaturization, reduced weight, high reliability, minimal use of thread locking compounds, and the ability to handle harsh environmental conditions dictated the use of small, high strength screws to be threaded into a variety of metal alloys including Be-S200f, Al-6061-T6, Mg-ZK60A-T5, and Ti-6Al-4V The lack of a credible fastener torque database for small (No.0 through No.8) high strength stainless steel screws in various parent materials, led to the development of an experimental program to characterize the following: (A) The screw torque value versus angular rotation (which indicates yielding in the screw or parent material) as a function of screw diameter, screw head configuration, depth of thread engagement, type of parent material, type of surface treatment on parent material, presence of thread locking compound, repeatable threaded hole use, and degree of screw pedigree. (B) The relationship between fastener torque and clamping force for a subset of the above mentioned variables. The database generated from this study will serve as a design reference for utilizing small stainless steel fasteners and provide trending information for other researchers who may be interested in broadening its range of parameters. This paper reviews the related fastener torque and clamping force information from the literature, describes the experimental screw torque and clamping force monitoring equipment, presents the test matrix and experimental procedures, and discusses the empirical results.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 989782
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-09-03473; LA-UR-09-3473
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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