The Effect of Bolt Grade on Breaking Point

A Science Fair Paper Presented to Missouri Junior Academy of Science

By Quinten Lewis

Table of Contents

Page #s Abstract Problem Statement Review of Literature Hypothesis/Null Hypothesis Materials and Procedures Data/Results Discussion of Results General Observations Conclusions Applications Bibliography Acknowledgements 3 4 4 4 5 6 7 7 7 8 8 8

Abstract The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of bolt grade on breaking point. The research hypothesis was that if you used a higher grade bolt, then the torque at the bolt's breaking point would significantly increase. There was no control in this experiment because there is not a standard bolt. The constants in this experiment were mechanic, tools, and hardware installed on each bolt. The independent variable in this experiment was bolt grade. The dependent variable in this experiment was torque at breaking point. The results show that the hypothesis that if you use a higher grade bolt, then the torque at its breaking point will significantly increase was not supported. The null hypothesis that if you use a higher grade bolt, then the torque at its breaking point will not significantly increase was supported. Possible explanations for the findings were that the higher grade bolts started to fracture first in turn lowering the torque at the actual breaking point. Recommendations for further study would be to test with different bolt lengths and diameters and also test the effects of using different grades of fasteners on how they hold up to pressure.

Problem Statement This project was conducted to show that the cost of failure from an improperly torqued bolt could be anywhere from minor property damage to major loss of life or equipment. It is important to know how tight a fastener should be for it to properly do its job. The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of bolt grade on breaking point. The research hypothesis was that if you used a higher grade bolt, then the torque at the bolt's breaking point would significantly increase. Reviews of Literature http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/torque/Q.torque.intro.html Torque is a measurement of how much force it takes to rotate an object. Torque equals the amount of pressure applied to the wrench times the distance from the pivot point to where the force is being applied. If two or more forces are being applied to an object at one time, you can add the combined torques of both objects to get a net torque. http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/bolts/M_bolts.html Charts are available to show how to identify the diameter size, grade, and thread pitch of a bolt. Every bolt has a specified bolt assembly torque measured in Newton Meters for each grade and diameter size. http://www.qualitymag.com/CDA/Archives/a400daf328c38010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____ There are many safety hazards of over or under tightening a bolt. The amount of torque required depends on the size and grade of the bolt. As tension cannot be measured with normal tools, a bolt must be set to its specified torque with a torque wrench. Hypothesis If you use a higher grade bolt, then the torque at its breaking point will significantly increase. Null Hypothesis If you use a higher grade bolt, then the torque at its breaking point will not significantly increase.

Procedures To conduct this experiment, you will need to gather the following materials: three 4.8 grade metric bolts that are 6mm in diameter by 45mm in length, three 8.8 grade metric bolts that are 6mm in diameter by 45mm in length, three 10.9 grade metric bolts that are 6mm in diameter by 45mm length, fifty-four flat washers, 27 grade 10 hex nuts that are 6mm in diameter, a deep well 10mm inch drive socket, a mechanic's vise, a 10mm inch drive socket, a inch drive electric digital torque wrench with an owner's manual, a John Deere 425 Technical Manual, safety goggles, paper, and pencil. Now, you are ready to conduct the experiment. Begin with the 4.8 grade bolts. First, you will need to install six flat washers and then three grade 10 hex nuts on each of the 4.8 grade bolts. After you have done that, clamp the deep well 10mm inch drive socket with the hex side up in the mechanic's vise. Once that is done, you will need to line up the flat sides of each of the three hex nuts that you placed on each of the 4.8 grade bolts to ensure proper fit in the deep well 10mm inch drive socket. You are now ready to place one of the prepared 4.8 grade bolts into the deep well 10mm inch drive socket that you clamped in the mechanic's vise. Next, you will need to snap the 10mm inch drive socket onto the inch drive electric digital torque wrench. Refer to the owner's manual to set the torque wrench to Newton Meters. Look on page six of the John Deere 425 Technical Manual for the specified torque value of your specified bolt then set your torque wrench to that value. When you have that done, place the 10mm inch drive socket, which is still attached to the torque wrench, onto the head of the 4.8 grade bolt. Make sure that the head of the bolt is fully in the socket and not visible. Now you need to put on your safety goggles. Finally, you are ready to tighten the bolt, slowly and steadily, in a clockwise rotation until the bolt snaps. You will then need to read the screen on the digital torque wrench to find what the Newton Meters were when the bolt broke. Record your findings on a data table with pencil and paper. Repeat the process with the 4.8 grade bolt two more times doing everything exactly the same. For your second bolt grade, you need to repeat the process again three more times substituting the 4.8 grade bolt with the 8.8 grade bolt. Again, make sure to do everything exactly the same. Lastly, for your third bolt grade, you need to repeat the process another three times substituting the 4.8 grade bolt with the 10.9 grade bolt.

Data/Results Table 1 The Effect of Bolt Grade on Breaking Point Breaking Point in Newton Meters (Nm) Bolt Grade Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Avg. 4.8 19.7 22.7 17.7 20.1 8.8 19.8 23.3 20.5 21.2 10.9 25.1 22.2 23.5 23.6 Graph 1
The Effect of Bolt Grade on Breaking Point
24.0 23.5 23.0 22.5 22.0 21.5 21.0 20.5 20.0 19.5 19.0 4.8 8.8 Bolt Grade 10.9

Breaking Point (Nm)

Table 2 The Effect of Bolt Grade on Breaking Point Bolt Grades 4.8 vs. 8.8 4.8 vs. 10.9 8.8 vs. 10.9 Variance 6.333 3.430 2.110 Results of t test 0.278 0.059 0.078

Degrees of Freedom for t tests = 4; alpha=0.05; t=2.776 for significance

Discussion of Results The results of this project show in Table 1 and graphically shown in Graph 1. Graph 1 shows that the 4.8 grade bolts broke at an average torque of 20.1 Newton Meters, the 8.8 grade bolts broke at an average torque of 21.2 Newton Meters, and the 10.9 grade bolts broke at an average torque of 23.6 Newton Meters. The relative effects of grade of bolt on the torque at breaking point, are summarized in Table 2. There was the greatest variance between the 4.8 and 8.8 grade bolts. The level of significance for each t test performed was 0.05 with degrees of freedom of 4. The null hypothesis that was tested was, if you use a higher grade bolt, then the torque at its breaking point will not significantly increase. The null hypothesis for this experiment was supported. The data does not support the hypothesis that if you use a higher grade bolt, then the torque at its breaking point will significantly increase. General Observations As you may have noticed, there is not a significant difference in the torque at each bolt's breaking point. The reason for this is because the higher grade bolts are much harder and always fracture before they actually break. At the point the bolt fractures, the torque displayed on the screen of the electric-digital torque wrench dramatically lowers because the bolt has already started to fail. As you continue your rotation to reach the bolt's breaking point, the torque begins to build back up but at a much lower torque than before the bolt was initially compromised. I noticed this when I was testing the first 10.9 grade bolt. While applying each rotating force the Newton Meters displayed on the digital screen of the torque wrench increased to around 27.8, however I then noticed that the Newton Meters had dropped to 22.2 right before the bolt broke. I thought this might have been a read error on my part, but the same thing happened again on my second trial. After thinking about it, my grandpa and I figured out that the torque was lowering because the bolt had already exceeded its initial fracture point before actually breaking at the lower torque recorded. I believe this happened because the material of the higher grade bolt was engineered to be more durable than the other two grades. As the bolt grades increased, so did their resistance for stretching and breaking. This is not uncommon as the higher the grade of the bolt the sturdier and more rigid they are supposed to be. Conclusions The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of a grade of bolt has on its breaking point. The major findings were that the different bolt grades had only slight changes in torque at each breaking point due to the difference in the material composition of each bolt. The hypothesis that if you used a higher grade bolt, then the torque at the bolt's breaking point would significantly increase was not supported. The null hypothesis that if you use a higher grade bolt, then the torque at its breaking point will not significantly increase, was supported. Possible explanations for the findings were that the higher grade bolts started to fracture first in turn lowering the torque at the actual breaking point. Recommendations for improving this experiment are that you should run more trials to get better findings and test higher grades of bolts. Recommendations for further study would be to test with different bolt lengths and diameters and also test the effects of using different grades of fasteners on how they hold up to pressure. 7

Applications One of the least fascinating but most important aspects of mechanical design is that of a fastener. The use of nuts and bolts as fasteners seem so ordinary as to be uninteresting, but many times the failure of such a fastener can lead to the failure of a product as a whole. Improperly tightened fasteners can very easily fail in service. As lots of things are held together by nuts and bolts, this project applies to a broad range of occupations and hobbies throughout the world. For example, in an occupation such as my grandpa's, as a John Deere Farm Machinery Mechanic, there are manuals that he uses daily with detailed instructions on torque specifications for proper bolt assembly on all John Deere products. Because there is such a wide range of torque specifications required to perform his job, he owns multiple torque wrenches capable of measuring torque from as low as .2 Nm to as high as 348.4 Nm. Also, this project is especially important to me as my favorite hobby is the sport of motocross racing. Maintaining my dirt bikes is as key to the sport as I am as the rider. Dirt bikes are held together by dozens of nuts and bolts that can wear down or wiggle loose as a result of normal use. Making sure all the bolts are tightened properly is crucial. Improperly tightened bike parts can lead to serious wear and tear, cause poor performance, or become a serious safety hazard. It is clear that a fastener should be tightened to the correct load whether it is holding together a bicycle or the space shuttle. Bibliography Metric bolt markings and torque values. Retrieved November 19, 2008, Web site: http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/bolts/M_bolts.html What is torque?. Retrieved November 19, 2008, Web site: http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/torque/Q.torque.intro.html Wright, Richard B. (June 1, 2005). Quality test and inspection: avoid the breaking point. Retrieved September 15, 2008, Web site: http://www.qualitymag.com/Articles/Feature_Article/a400daf328c38010VgnVCM100000f932a8 c0____ Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following people for helping make my project possible: My mom for helping me fine tune my Science Fair Paper Ms. Wilson for grading and correcting my project My grandpa for helping me complete the trials and assisting me in almost everything