Cadmium-plated high-strength steel bolts were used to facilitate quick disassembly of a vehicle. One bolt was found fractured across the root of a thread after being torqued in place for one week. The bolts were made of 8735 steel heat treated to a tensile strength of 1241 to 1379 MPa (180 to 200 ksi) with a hardness of 39 to 43 HRC, followed by cadmium plating. The bolt that failed and several that did not were examined. It was found that failure of the bolts was the result of time-dependent hydrogen embrittlement. Had the remaining bolts been torqued to the normal stress levels, all would have failed within two weeks. The bolts were baked, as specified by ASTM B 242, at 205 deg C (400 deg F) for 30 min. No further failures occurred. Baking for 30 min is the minimum baking time; however, baking times up to 24 h are recommended for greater safety.

The bolt in a bolt and thimble assembly used to connect a wire rope to a crane hanger bracket was worn excessively. Two worn bolts, one new bolt, and a new thimble were examined. Specifications required the bolts to be made of 4140 steel heat treated to a hardness of 277 to 321 HRB. Thimbles were to be made of cast 8625 steel, but no heat treatment or hardness were specified. Analysis (visual inspection, hardness testing, and metallographic examination) supported the conclusion that the wear was due to strikingly difference hardness measurements in the bolt and thimble. Recommendations included hardening and tempering the bolts to the hardness range of 375 to 430 HRB. The thimbles should be heat treated to a similar microstructure and the same hardness range as those of the bolt. Molybdenum disulfide lubricant can be liberally applied during the initial installation of the bolts. A maintenance lubrication program was not suggested, but galling could be reduced by periodic application of a solid lubricant.

A heat-treated, cadmium-plated AISI 8740 steel bolt broke through the head-to-shank fillet while being handled during assembly. Fractographic and metallographic examination of the bolt traced the cause of failure to quench cracking, which occurred when the part was water cooled following hot heading and prior to the production run. The process chart for hot heading was changed from water quenching to air cooling following the forming operation.

The draw-in bolt and collet from a vertical-spindle milling machine broke during routine cutting of blind recesses after a relatively long service life. The collet ejected at a high rotational speed due to loss of its vertical support and shattered one of its arms upon impact with the work table. SEM fractography and metallographic examinations conducted on the bolt revealed hairline indications along grain facets on the fracture surface and stepwise cracking in the material, both indicating failure by hydrogen embrittlement. Similar draw-in bolts were discarded and replaced with bolts manufactured using controlled processes.

Breech bolt assemblies from the Gatling guns used on fighter aircraft failed during firing tests. Metallography of the failed components revealed considerable decarburization which resulted in a loss of surface hardness. It was also determined that the maraging steel components were not in the nitrided condition as was required. This resulted in lower wear and fatigue resistance. These components also had a silicon content nearly double of that specified. The high silicon content lowered the notch tensile strength and toughness of the components.

Stainless steel bolts broke after short-term exposure in boiler feed-pump applications. Specifications required that the bolts be made of a 12% Cr high-strength steel with a composition conforming to that of AISI type 410 stainless steel. Several bolts from three different installations were examined. It was found that fracture of the bolts was by intergranular stress corrosion. A metallic copper-containing antiseizure compound on the bolts in a corrosive medium set up an electro-chemical cell that produced trenchlike fissures or pits for fracture initiation. Because the bolts were not subjected to cyclic loading, fatigue or corrosion fatigue was not possible. To prevent reoccurrence, bolts were required to conform to the specified chemical composition. The hardness range for the bolts was changed from 35 to 45 HRC to 18 to 24 HRC. Petroleum jelly was used as an antiseizure lubricant in place of the copper-containing compound. As a result of these changes, bolt life was increased to more than three years.

Hydrogen-assisted stress-corrosion cracking failure occurred in four AISI 4137 chromium molybdenum steel bolts having a hardness of 42 HRC. The normal service temperature (400 deg C, or 750 deg F) was too high for hydrogen embrittlement but, the bolts were subjected also to extended shutdown periods at ambient temperatures. The corrosive environment contained trace hydrogen chloride and acetic acid vapors as well as calcium chloride if leaks occurred. The exact service life was unknown. The bolt surfaces showed extensive corrosion deposits. Cracks had initiated at both the thread roots and the fillet under the bolt head. Multiple, branched cracking was present in a longitudinal section through the failed end of one bolt, typical of hydrogen-assisted SCC in hardened steels. Chlorides were detected within the cracks and on the fracture surface. The failed bolts were replaced with 17-4 PH stainless steel bolts (Condition H 1150M) having a hardness of 22 HRC.

Several stainless steel bolts used on a Titan Space Launch Vehicle broke at the shank and failure was attributed to stress-corrosion cracking. But results could not be duplicated in the laboratory with salt-solution immersion tests until the real culprit was established: the secondary effect of galvanic coupling, hydrogen embrittlement.

Type 410 stainless steel bolts were used to hold together galvanized gray cast iron splice case halves. Before installation, the bolts were treated with molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) antiseize compound. Several failures of splice case bolts were discovered in flooded manholes after they were in service for three to four months. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine if the failure mode was hydrogen-stress cracking, if sulfides accelerate the failure, if heat treatment can improve the resistance against this failure mode, and if the type 305 austenitic stainless steel would serve as a replacement material. Based on test results, the solution to the hydrogen-stress cracking problem consisted of changing the bolt from type 410 to 305 stainless steel, eliminating use of MoS2, and limiting the torque to 60 N·m (540 in.·lb).

Galvanized A36 steel unsleeved shear-type anchor bolts failed during installation. The galvanized steel bolts were approximately 18 mm (0.7 in.) in diameter with a 90 deg bend between the long and short legs. As-fractured, sawcut, and unfractured specimens were examined. Failure analysis revealed dark thumbnail regions at the fracture origins and a very narrow and uniform shear lip. The thumbnail region exhibited zinc deposits with no apparent fracture detail, indicating preexisting cracks that had occurred before galvanizing. The balance of the fracture exhibited a transgranular mode with cleavage and ductile, dimpled shear. Hardness values as high as 35 HRC were measured in the bend area. The as-galvanized bolts fractured in a brittle manner. Failure was attributed to improper bending of the bolts, which provided a severely cold-worked bend area susceptible to strain-age embrittlement.

During a routine inspection on an aircraft assembly line, an airframe attachment bolt was found to be broken. The bolt was one of 12 that attach the lower outboard longeron to the wing carry-through structure. Failure occurred on the right-hand forward bolt in this longeron splice attachment. The bolt was fabricated from PH13-8Mo stainless steel heat treated to have an ultimate tensile strength of 1517 to 1655 MPa (220 to 240 ksi). A water-soluble coolant was used in drilling the bolt hole where this fastener was inserted. Investigation (visual inspection, 265 SEM images, hardness testing, auger emission spectroscopy and secondary imaging spectroscopy, tensile testing, and chemical analysis) supported the conclusion that failure of the attachment bolt was caused by stress corrosion. The source of the corrosive media was the water-soluble coolant used in boring the bolt holes. Recommendations included inspecting for corrosion all the bolts that were installed using the water-soluble coolant at the spliced joint areas, rinsing all machined bolt holes with a noncorrosive agent, and installing new PH13-8Mo stainless steel bolts with a polysulfide wet sealant.