PFANF8 (2001) 1:41-46 ASM International

Evaluating the Effects of Overtorque in Bolts

Roy G. Baggerly

(Submitted 20 September 2000; in revised form 5 October 2000)

The correct tension or pre-load applied to a bolt is critical to the reliability of a bolted joint assembly. If the
pre-load is too low and the joint is subject to cyclic loads, the fatigue reliability may be compromised.
Alternatively, if the tension is too high, the reliability may again be questionable due to either yielding of the
bolt or an increasing risk of environmental induced cracking. Simple laboratory tests have been performed to
show that microhardness is sensitive to strain hardening in a bolt that has yielded. The thread root radius can
also be measured to determine whether a threaded fastener has been stretched past the yield point. This
paper summarizes the laboratory tests to evaluate yielding and presents a fracture mechanics-based approach
to determine if a bolt is at risk from environmental effects because of too high a clamp load or tensile stress.

Keywords: damage tolerance index, thread root radius, thread root stress intensity, ultrasonic gauge

Introduction The clamp load or tension in a fastener increases

Knowledge of the loading stresses and environ-
mental exposure conditions are required for reliable
and robust joint designs using fasteners. Threaded
fasteners are often protected from corrosion by the
use of sacrificial anodic coatings such as zinc,
aluminum, or cadmium. The protection mechanism
for these anodic coatings is sacrificial when corrosion
occurs and the concurrent cathodic reaction often
results in the generation of hydrogen. If the cathodic
reaction occurs in the vicinity of a discontinuity in
the fastener, the fastener is at risk for environmental
induced cracking (EIC). Special design features, steel
metallurgy, and quality of manufacture may have a
significant influence on preventing EIC. An experi-
mental/analytical approach designed to provide
improved understanding of the reliability of zinc
plated fasteners used at clamp loads that place the
fastener under tensile stresses approaching the yield
stress was therefore developed.
with tightening and the local stress in the region of
the thread root increases as the theoretical elastic
stress concentration factor increases.[1] A description
and analysis of a standard bolt design using the
Neuber approach was conveniently presented during
the ASTM symposium on the Structural Integrity
of Fasteners.[2] The analysis was performed using a
cylindrical rod model that had a single unified screw
thread to represent a bolt. The analysis was presented
as a numerical calculation. The stress magnification
factor decreases with radial distance from the thread
root for a 16 mm bolt, as shown in Fig.1.
A finite element analysis was performed on several
threads of a 16 mm UNR bolt to gain further under-
standing of the local stress distribution at the thread
root. A force was applied to create a nominal stress

Theoretical Background Elastic Stress

Concentration at a Thread Root
Stress concentrations in a machine component
affect the local stress condition when a force is
applied. This has the effect of magnifying the
nominal stress by a numerical factor greater than
unity. The design and geometry of threads in
fasteners influence the stress concentration, thus the
thread root radius and the depth of the thread relative
to the nominal diameter are very important. The
magnitude of the stress concentration factor is a
result of the notch geometry of the thread and it is Fig. 1 Elastic stress concentration at the root of a single M16
also dependent on the fastener size. bolt thread

Roy G. Baggerly, PACCAR Technical Center (retired), 5112 Castle Ct., Anacortes, WA 98221-3047. Contact e-mail: baggerly@
sos.net.

Practical Failure Analysis Volume 1(1) February 2001 41

 Evaluating the Effects of Overtorque in Bolts (continued)

approximating the yield stress. The FEA stress Experimental Procedure

distribution over a model bolt is shown in Fig. 2, An ultrasonic thickness gauge was used to
and the view of a single thread root from this model determine the change in length and calculate the
is shown in Fig. 3. Discontinuity, such as inclusions tension or stress in M16 bolts as they were being
or laps, in the region of the thread root have the tightened. The clamped load was measured with a
potential to open up into a crack when the bolt is load cell that was incorporated into the test fixture.
tensioned due to the magnifying effect of the stress The yield stress can be detected in this manner, as
concentration. shown in Fig. 4. At least one commercial truck
0
manufacturer is currently using this method to
120 calibrate sophisticated torque/turn of the screw
240 tightening equipment in the factory. Microhardness
360
480 measurements were made on sectioned and metallo-
600 graphically prepared M16 bolts to determine if a
720
840
hardness gradient could be detected from the thread
960 root to the interior of a strained bolt. In order to
1080 increase the sensitivity of the Knoop microhardness
1200
1320 test, the indentor load was reduced to 55 g. It was
1440 expected that accuracy would be compromised using
1560
1680 the lighter load. However, by taking a sufficient
1800 number of readings, the statistics of the measure-
Fig. 2 Finite element analysis of a 16 mm bolt model ments could compensate for the reduced accuracy.
The variation in hardness at the undeformed end
0 of a bolt that had yielded in other threads is shown
120
240 in Fig. 5. Statistically the hardness did not change
360 with position. The hardness in a deformed region of
480
600
the same bolt was greatest at the thread root and
720 diminished towards the interior, as shown in Fig. 6.
840 Several hardness traverses were made on different
960
1080 thread roots of the deformed bolt to determine how
1200 the measurements varied. The calculated curve fits
1320 through the data, as shown in Fig. 7. A hardness
1440
1560 increase at the thread root could not be detected
1680 unless the bolt actually showed yielding.
1800

Fig. 3 Finite element analysis for a single thread root of a

16 mm bolt

Fig. 4 M16 bolt tension test using an ultrasonic thickness gauge: Fig. 5 Microhardness traverse from undeformed thread root in
Threaded gauge length of 47mm an overtorqued and deformed M16 bolt

42 Volume 1(1) February 2001 Practical Failure Analysis

 The thread root radius, r, was also measured and
these values are shown on the graph. The triaxial
stress state at the thread root may inhibit localized
yielding even though the stress concentration factor
suggests yielding in the thread root region before
gross yielding. The thread root radius is quite sensi-
tive to deformation in the bolt and was measured
using a video monitor coupled with a CCD camera
in the microscope. The final magnification, as seen
on the monitor, was calibrated, and a photo trans-
parency inscribed with several arcs of differing radii
was laid over the video image of the thread root. The
variation in thread root radii in an overtorqued bolt
is shown in Fig. 8. Figures 9(a) and (b) show the
appearance of undeformed and deformed thread
roots in the same bolt.
There is a finite probability that a discontinuity
may reside in the region of the thread root. A
discontinuity can be a non-metallic inclusion, micro-
Fig. 6 Microhardness traverse from deformed thread root of
overtorqued and deformed M16 bolt
Fig. 7 Curve fit microhardness profiles from thread roots of an
overtorqued and deformed M16 bolt
Practical Failure Analysis
cracks formed during heat treatment, or a lap in the
threads from thread rolling. The stress in this region
increases during tightening of the fastener and the
stress on the discontinuity also increases, particularly
if the discontinuity is a non-metallic inclusion with
an elastic modulus that differs significantly from the
matrix. When the stress in the thread root region
containing the discontinuity increases, a crack may
initiate at the discontinuity due to the mismatch in
elastic properties between inclusion and matrix. A
crack in this region may extend to a larger dimension
with continued tightening. Linear elastic fracture
mechanics (LEFM) provides the framework to treat
the problem of a crack at the thread root since the
elastic stress concentration factor becomes intractable
with an infinitely small crack tip radius.
Fracture Mechanics Analysis of Cracks at
Thread Roots
A parametric form of the stress intensity factor
for fasteners having cracks at the thread roots was
presented at the ASTM Symposium on Structural
Integrity of Fasteners.[3] The stress intensity, KI,
varies with the size of crack or crack depth from the
thread root, as shown in Eq 1. Solutions to this equa-
tion for an M16 bolt tightened to various percentages
of the nominal yield stress are shown in Fig 10.
KI = ( a) [2.4371exp(-36.5a/d) + 0.5154 +
0.4251(a/d) + 2.4134(a/d)2
-15.4491(a/d)3 + 36.157(a/d)4] (Eq 1)
= applied stress
a = crack dimension
d = minor bolt diameter
A conservative design approach is to assume a
crack occurs in the thread root region with crack
Fig. 8 Thread root radii from an overtorqued and deformed
M16 bolt
Volume 1(1) February 2001 43
 Evaluating the Effects of Overtorque in Bolts
depth a equivalent to (D-d)/2 (D = major diameter,
d = minor diameter). This relationship is graphically
expressed in Fig. 11 and confirms practical experi-
ence that larger bolts are more sensitive to fracture
when tightened to a high level of tensile stress.
Susceptibility of Fasteners to Environmental
Induced Cracking (EIC)
When a highly stressed bolt is exposed to an
aggressive environment, cracks may develop and
propagate at a critical threshold stress intensity level,
KEIC. The value of KEIC is dependent on the environ-
ment of exposure and the metallurgical condition of
the fastener. A knowledge of the threshold value or
KEIC of a bolt in a severe service environment is
essential to the determination of a safe or conser-
vative sustainable clamp load. The threshold stress
level or clamp load can then be calculated by using
Eq 1 and including the K EIC value for the bolt
material. An appropriate crack size at the thread root
and a specific environment must be assumed for the
a b
Fig. 9 Thread root profiles from an overtorqued and deformed M16 bolt. (a) Root radius, r=0.2725 mm. (b) Root Radius, r =0.3917 mm
Fig. 10 Stress intensity for cracks at the thread root of an
M16 bolt
44 Volume 1(1) February 2001
(continued)
calculation. If no other information is available,
assume that the crack length is (D-d)/2.
Corrosion can generate atomic hydrogen during
a cathodic reaction and place the bolt in a hydrogen
rich environment. This atomic hydrogen has the
potential to adsorb into the steel fastener and diffuse
to a region of high stress intensity, i.e., a discontinuity
or crack in the thread root region of a tensioned
fastener. Additionally, any hydrogen in the fastener
due to uptake during processing may also relocate
to the crack tip. The subsequent crack growth rate is
dependent on the hydrogen concentration, the
exposure temperature, and the metallurgical
condition of the steel. Anodic coatings provide some
measure of protection from corrosion for the steel
bolt, but they may also promote the generation of
hydrogen during the cathodic reaction due to
sacrificial corrosion. Zinc, aluminum, and cadmium
coatings have been shown to significantly influence
the KEIC values for AISI 1345 steel. A rising step
load procedure to determine threshold values for
Fig. 11 Stress intensity plotted as a function of the minor bolt
diameter assuming a flaw size equivalent to (D-d)/2
Practical Failure Analysis
environmental induced cracking (EIC) is described
in ASTM 1624-95. Values for the three coatings
plated on 1345 steel bolts with a hardness of HRC
37 are shown in Table 1.
Determining a Safe Preload Level
Determination of a safe preload level for a bolt
has been the emphasis of many discussions and
research programs.[4] The practice of applying high
clamp loads in the range of the fastener yield stress
is often used to prevent loosening of bolts under
vibration conditions and helps prevent fatigue failure.
However, this practice may degrade the reliability
of the fastener when aggressive environmental
conditions involving corrosion are encountered. An
evaluation procedure based on the Damage Tolerance
Index, or DTI, which is defined as the ratio of KEIC /
YS has been developed. [5] The DTI is given by:
DTI = KEIC /YS = (AS/YS)( a) [2.4371exp
(-36.5a/d) + 0.5154
+ 0.4251(a/d) + 2.4134(a/d)2- 15.4491(a/d)3 +
36.157(a/d)4] (Eq 2)
YS = yield strength
AS = assembly stress or preload stress
This equation is plotted for various ratios of
assembly stress to the yield stress in Fig. 12. The
Table 1 KEIC threshold values for plated 1345
steel having a hardness of HRC 37
Coating KEIC (MPam)
Zinc Sermagard 24.72
Aluminum flake 69.23
Cadmium 75.93
Fig. 12 The relationship between damage tolerance index and
the minor bolt diameter for ratios of assembly stress to
yield stress
Practical Failure Analysis
relationship between fastener size, damage tolerance
index, and clamp load stress level on susceptibility
to environmental induced cracking is clearly shown.
A specific DTI level for a steel bolt is determined
by the ratio of stress intensity threshold to yield
strength. If the tensile stress applied to the bolt
exceeds the intersection of the DTI for a specific
bolt size, then the bolt is at risk of EIC in an
aggressive environment.
Failure Analysis Approach
A critical aspect of the failure analysis of a fastener
is to determine the service stresses because these
stresses have a significant effect on the in-service
behavior. If the stresses were too low fatigue failure
might occur, whereas EIC might be anticipated if
the stresses were too high. Determining if a bolt was
overtightened after the bolt fails is difficult, but
would be a significant help in determining the
circumstances leading to failure. The microhardness
at the thread root of a zinc plated bolt that had failed
is shown in Fig.13. The bolt hardness was HRC 37,
which is consistent with a low resistance to EIC.
The intergranular fracture mode was also suggestive
of an environmental cause. The application of the
DTI methodology to determine the root cause of
failure required that the threshold for EIC be
determined for similar bolts having a hardness value
at the high end of the allowable range of hardness.
The hardness range for a high strength 10.9 bolt
is so broad that, in one case, zinc plated bolts having
a hardness at the low end, such as HRC 33-35, can
be tightened to a tensile level close to the yield stress
without a high probability of experiencing environ-
mental induced cracking. In another case, zinc plated
bolts that had been heat treated to the high end of
Fig. 13 Strain hardening at thread root induced by overtorque
and deformation
Volume 1(1) February 2001 45
 Evaluating the Effects of Overtorque in Bolts
the specification range, such as HRC 37-39, would
be at risk if tightened to a level close to the yield
stress and used in a corrosive environment.
Zinc plating is a common practice to minimize
bolt corrosion, but other coatings could prove more
beneficial in reducing the cathodic corrosion reaction
and raising the threshold for environmental induced
cracking. This would then allow the bolt to be
tensioned to a higher clamp load without risk of
cracking.
Conclusions
1. Strain hardening resulting from a bolt that has
been overtorqued past the yield point can be
detected by microhardness measurements.
2. The measurement of the thread root radius is
an effective way to measure the yield defor-
mation in an overtorqued bolt.
46 Volume 1(1) February 2001
(continued)
Acknowledgment
The author wishes to acknowledge and thank Scott
Reiss for performing the finite element analysis on
the M16 bolt threads.
References
1. H. Neuber: 1958 Kerbspannungslehre, 2nd ed. in German,
Springer, Berlin, Theory of Notch Stresses, English
translation by Office of Technical Services, U.S. Dept. of
Commerce, Washington D.C., 1961. p. 207.
2. R.C. Cipolla: Structural Integrity of Fasteners, ed. Pir M.
Toor, ASTM STP 1236, ASTM, Philadelphia, PA., 1995,
pp. 108-125.
3. A. Liu: Structural Integrity of Fasteners, ed. Pir M. Toor,
ASTM STP 1236, ASTM, Philadelphia, PA., 1995, pp.
126-140
4. Y. Chung: Threshold Preload Levels for Avoiding Stress
Corrosion Cracking in High Strength Bolts, Technical
Report 0284-03 for EPRI, April 1984.
5. L. Raymond: American Fastener Journal, 1990, Vol. 7 (5),
p. 3.
Practical Failure Analysis