R&D INSIGHTS

Guideline: Structural bolting and

use of fasteners
Contents

Introduction 01

Common types of fasteners 02

Customised items 08

Strength description for steel fasteners acc. ISO 898-1 10

Strength description for fasteners made of stainless steel acc. ISO 3503-1 11

Recommended sizes of bolts and screws 12

Design of bolted joint 16

Clamping forces for the different sizes 24

Tightening methods of fasteners 26

Control of bolted joint 28

Smart selection table 29

00
Introduction
The purpose of this guideline is to increase your basic
understanding of fasteners.

Only the most common type of fasteners is included

in the guideline. There is a wide range of fasteners
for specific use. Though, many of the described rules
covers these as well.

The most common fasteners are described and

controlled by ISO norms or in some cases DIN or other
national normals, which ensures that fasteners can be
bought at many different suppliers.

The thread diameter of a fastener “M-size” is

standardised as well.

These sizes are divided into two groups:

1. Common sizes: M4, M5, M6, M8, M10, M12, M16,

M20, M24, M30, M36, M42, M48, M56, M64

2. Optional sizes: M14, M18, M22, M27, M33, M39,

M45, M52, M60

3. Fasteners above size M36 are unusual. Therefor, it is

a good idea to ensure if they are available.

In the guideline, you will find a table of the most

common sizes of fasteners which gives you an
overview of the available dimensions.

The guideline describes two different bolted joints:

1. Primary joints, which are critical parts seeing that

they can cause critical damages if the joint fails. It
might be loaded joints, joint exposed to dynamic
load or high vibrations.

2. Secondary joints, which are non-critical parts.

Enjoy.

01
Common types of fasteners
This section covers the most common type of fastening elements.

Bolt and screws:

Hex. Head Bolt acc. ISO 4014

This fastener is almost a default part in any

construction.
You can buy it everywhere in nearly all dimensions.
The most common lengths of these bolts are from 4
- 10 times the diameter of the bolt. The diameters of
these bolts are nearly unlimited unless they are larger
than M36.

Hex. Head Screw acc. ISO 4017

This is basically a variation of ISO 4014 but fully

threaded.
The length of the bolt is mostly below 100 mm.
You can buy them in sizes up to M360.
The bolts are often used as an adjustment feature
where the length of the thread enables more flexibil-
ity and the possibility of counter nut to avoid the bolt
from rotating when tightened.

Hex. Socket Head Cap Screw acc. ISO 4762

The screw is often used if a counterbore is needed

seeing that the turning interface is placed inside the
screw instead of outside as the ones above.
The length of these screws can vary from very short
up to 20 times the diameter of the bolts.

Hex. Socket Countersunk Screw acc. ISO 10642

The screw is often used if the top of the screw must

be leveled with the surroundings or when fixing rela-
tively thin material.
It is not possible to tighten the screw harder on its
head because the internal hexagon mostly are de-
signed for use as a threshold.

02
ISO 14399 / DASt-Richtlinie 021
ISO 14399 for bolts ≤M36.

DASt Richtlinie 021 for bolts above M36 to M72.

Abolt garniture set is widely used in constructions.
The bolts are delivered mounted with two washers
and a nut. You don’t need to pre-lubricate this type of
bolts as it is already lubricated from the supplier.
However, it is very important to avoid moisture or
water before tightening the bolt as the friction can
change dramatically.

Threaded Rods

If you use long bolts, a fully threaded rod can be a

good solution.
Threaded rods are normally 1 or 2 meters long and
can be shortened to a given length.
A threaded rod can be made according to a drawing
or specification - or even both. The specification must
contain M-size, length, surface treatment and bolt
upgrade (8.8, 10.9 ...)

Stud

A customised stud can be used if you are using long

bolts.
A stud does not have the same length limits as the
threaded rod.
A stud must always be made according to a drawing or
specification - or both. The specification must contain
M-size, length, surface treatment and bolt grade (8.8,
10.9 ...)

03
Nuts:

Hex. Nut acc. ISO 4032

This nut is almost a default part in any

construction.
You can buy it everywhere in nearly all dimensions.

Hex. Prevailing Nut acc. ISO 7040

This is the most common nut used for preventing the

nut from falling off.
It is also refered to as a “locknut” but it is not a good
description seeing that the nut do not have a locking
effect. Though, the polyamide ring prevents the nut
from coming off if the joint comes loose.

Hex. Jam Nut acc. ISO 4035

The jam nut is commonly used for preventing the nut

from falling off.
You get the most out of the jam nut, if you mount it at
the bolt first, tighten it 25-50 % of the nominal torque
of the normal nut. Thereafter, you should mount the
normal nut and make a counter hold on the jam nut
when tightening it.
The nut has a locking effect but there is still a risk that
it might loosen and eventually come off.

Welding Nut acc. DIN 929

Welding nuts are often used if there is insufficient

material thickness to make a thread.
If you are welding on a plate, you must be aware of
the strengh of the nut due to the possibility of heat.
You can find the welding nut in various designs but in
general it can’t be used for heavy loads.

04
Welding Base Nut

Welding nuts are used if there is insufficient material

thickness to make a thread.
If you are welding on a plate, you must be aware of
the strength of the nut due to the possibility of heat.
You can find the welding nut in various designs but in
general it can’t be used for heavy loads.

Press nut

A press nut is often used in sheet metal as the nut is

mounted and fixed without welding.
The outer contour can be a hexagon or round. I would
prefer the round version.
You can find the press nut in different materials.

Rivet nut

Rivet nuts can be mounted into hollow profiles or

places which is impossible to access.
Depending on the material and the environment, you
can find several types of rivet nuts.
Be aware that many rivet nuts are produced in allu-
minium which might lead to galvanic corrosion if the
joint is exposed to moisture or water.
This kind of fastener is only recommended for low to
medium static loads.

05
Plain and locking washers:

Washer acc. ISO 7089 or ISO 7090

These washers are nearly identical.

ISO 7090 has a chamfer at the outside while the ISO
7089 has not. However, it only affects the visual part
of the washer.
The minimum hardness of the washer depends on the
bolt grade. It must be:
- Grade 8.8: 200 HV
- Grade 10.9: 300 HV
- Grade 12.9: 385 HV

This type of washer is primarily used to distribute the

pressure beneath the bolthead or nut towards the
clamped item.

Washer with big outer diameter acc. ISO 7093-1

It is beneficial to use this type of washer on top of

oblong holes on sheet metal items.
Furthermore, I recommend to include an ISO
7089/7090 washer on top of this washer to ensure a
better load distribution.

Locking washers and glue:

Spring washers: (Not recommended)

You can find many types of spring washers but they

are not worth much in a machine.
Locking effect is only included in fasteners grade 6.8
or below. For grade 8.8 and higher, they are worthless.

Wedge lock washers

This kind of washers provides loosening of bolts and

nuts. Each washer consists of two separate profiled
washers. The washer must be fully tightened when
mounted and the washer must be present at both the
bolt and the nut end.
You must not include other type of washers seeing
that it will loose its locking effect.

06
Schnorr® Lock Washer

This is a cheaper alternative to wedge lock washers.

However, the bolting material must be able to resist
the high surface pressure below the washer.
I can only recommend this type of lock washer for ma-
terials with a hardness HB min 146 (S355). Use type
“S” washer for 8.8 bolts.

Gluing, liquid
It is common to secure a joint with glue.

NB! The threads can’t be lubricated due to the adhe-

sion of the glue.
Special attention must be given within the following
areas:
- If you use it on stainless bolts seeing that most type
of glues has reduced properties on stainless steel.
- If you include steel bolts which is coated with Zinc
Flake products or similar. The coating often have a dry
llubricant incorporated which reduces the bonding
force on the thread.

Gluing, solid pre-applied

The glue is pre-applied on the bolt or screw.

Normally, it is a two-component glue which is activat-
ed as you tighten the fastener.

NB! It is not possible to lubricate the threads due to

the adhesion of the glue.
You must take bolts coated with Zinc Flake products or
similar into account because this type of coating often
have a dry lubricant incorporated which reduces the
bonding force on the thread.

07
Customised items
Some items are not defined as standard parts but are steel A2 or A4 (A4 is also known as acid resistant).
instead customised for a specific purpose.
This includes clamping plates and distance bushings, The surface protection is a kind of offering materi-
which are described in this section. al that dissapears over a couple of years resulting
in corrosion of the bolt. The lifetime of the surface
Clamping plate: treatment depends on different factors such as wa-
A clamping plate is beneficial to include in a multiple ter, salt, chemicals, temperature etc.
hole joint with round or oblong holes.
A clamping plate is a kind of load distributer and If you are in doubt, please ask the supplier about
ensures better load distribution in the joint. I would fastening elements.
recommend that the thickness of the clamping plate
is minimum the diameter of the bolt. Electroplating acc. ISO 4042:
This type of electroplating is the most common
You must always use a washer on top of the clamp- corrosion protection in which zinc is the main com-
ing plate to avoid imprint from the bolt or nut. ponent.
Most of these fasteners can be used indoor. The zinc
Distance bushings: is applied in an electrolytic process.
A distance bushing is beneficial if you want to in- This surface treatment can’t be used on fasteners
crease the clamping length of the joint. property class 12.9 and above due to high risk of
NB! Do not cut the pipe seeing that the strength embrittlement.
is insufficient if the bolt is torqued to its nominal
torque. Hot dip galvanizing acc. ISO 10684:
Also referred to as TZN (Thermal Zink) HDG (Hot dip
A general rule is that the total thickness of the wall galvanizing).
across the bushing must be at least equal to the di- It is customised galvanizing for fasteners. The fasten-
ameter of the bolt -1mm. Furthermore, the bushing er is dipped into a liquid zinc bath and afterwards
must be made of S355. In all cases, the strength of connected to the surface of the fastener. If it is a
the bushing must be equal or higher than the bolts. normal size bolt, it is produced with a “U” after the
material description.
An example: This type of galvanize is recommended for outdoor
- M10 10.9 bolt use only.
- Wall thickness in the bushing (10-1)/2mm=4,5mm
- Clearance in bolt hole 1mm However, there are som limitations using this kind of
- Dimension of bushing: ø11/ø20 surface treatment:
- Fasteners less than M8
Always use a washer on top of the clamping plate to - Fasteners with an internal hole such as hexagon or
avoid imprint from the bolt or nut. hexaboular
- Fasteners property class 12.9 and above due to
Surface treatment: high risk of embrittlement.
In general, fasteners are made of steel. Therefore, it
is often required to apply surface protection on the
bolts. An alternative is fasteners made of stainless

08
Zinc-flake coating acc. ISO 10683:
An organic coating which is applied either by spray
or dip. This type of coating can be used on nearly all
kind of fasteners.

The coating can be applied in several thicknesses

and in different colours. In many cases, the coating
contains additional lubricant that decreases the fric-
tion in the interfaces of the thread/nut/washer. The
description is “flznLnc” and the capital L states that
the internal lubricant is added during the coating.
That is why the chemical locking on these bolts only
has limited effect.

Black:
If a fastener is categorised as “black” it has no sur-
facetreatment. It is either blank or black due to a
phosphating process in the manufacturing process of
the bolt.

09
Strength descriptions for steel
fasteners acc. ISO 898-1
You can find out the strength of the bolt by looking at the numeric code on top of the bolt head.

Bolt 8.8, 10.9 and in some cases 12.9 are the most common used bolts for construction of machines.

The digits indicates:

- The digits before the dot: Tensile stress/100, eg.
8.X means that the tensile stress = 800MPa.
- The digit after the dot: The yield strength ratio of the property, eg. 8.8, tensile 800MPa, ratio 0,8, yeld
strength 640MPa.

There is a connection between the strength of the fastener and the possible surface treatment.
The stronger the bolt is, the less chance of selecting different surface treatments.

11 Bolt class 12.9 shall be avoided, and is not allowed in lifting tools and in structure with dynamic load

10
Strength description for fasteners
made of stainless steel acc. ISO 3506-1
The most common fastener is produced in austenitic steel and marked with an “A” on top of the bolt.
The most common type of stainless steel is A2 or A4 (Also referred to as acid resistant).

Regarding stainless fasteners, the strength is normally described by number “50”, “70” or “80”. The most
common is “50” or “70”.

The mark on top of the bolt can for instance be “A4-70” (acid resistant tensile strength 700 MPa).
The basic properties are:

11
Recommended sizes of bolts and screws

To make it more easy to navigate in the jungle of where. Though, it is not a standard size, which can
bolts, I have created a table in which I have divided make them more expensive compared to the bolts
the bolts into three categories. NB! This is from a from the green category.
commercial perspective, so always check with your
supplier. Red category: You may be lucky to find these bolts
at your local supplier but due to the size they can be
Green category: Recommended sizes which make quite expensive.
them easy to find and cheap to buy.
Yellow category: You can find these bolts almost any-

12
13
14
15
Design of a bolted joint

You can prevent many issues related to fasteners The following factors are the main contributors to a
by selecting the right fastener elements from the bolted joint:
beginning. - Type of load
This section describes some guidelines, which can - Clamping length
help you along the way. - Clamping ratio
First, I want to explain some of the thermology’s, - Vibrations
which occures in this chapter. - Number of contact surfaces
- Conditions of contact surfaces
- Clamping length: The distance between the bolt- - Stiffness of the clamped material, soft material
head and the nut or threaded part.
- Clamping ratio: Clamping length divided with the
bolt diameter.

The clamping length is defined as the length from tional securing of the joint.
the bottom of the bolthead to the beginning of the
thread engagement. If the joint is exposed to high frequency or vibra-
tions, a mechanical lock washer or chemical bonding
A reliable bolted joint must have a certain minimum is recommended. By adding a nut with a nylin, it will
clamping ratio. If the joint is dynamic loaded, the in some cases not be able to resist the vibrations and
clamping ratio is recommended to be minimum 5. will loosen or even fall off. The risk can be reduced
However, if the joint is static loaded, the clamping by increasing the clamping length by adding bush-
ratio is recommended to be minimum 2 (in some ings.
cases, you should use smaller bolts).

If it is not possible to obtain, you must consider addi-

16
Number of contact surfaces Surface treatment such as hot dip galvanizing or
You must avoid too many contact surfaces in a bolted metallizing are possible before mounting of the bolt.
joint.
Normally, only one main contact (contacts in the For further information, please have a look at the
joint) surface is present. The contact points in the Eurocode EN/DS 1090-2.
washers does not count as a main contact surface.
Commonly, you can have one or two main contacts Stiffness of the clamped material, soft material:
in a joint. If the joint consists of two soft materials, for exam-
If you have 3 or 4 main contact surfaces, there is a ple plastic or rubber, you are not able to tighten
risk that the bolt can loosen or the pretension can the bolts normally. Instead you must use a reduced
increase dramatically. A way to prevent this is to in- tightening force.
crease the clamping ratio and/or make a retightening Furthermore, a securing of the joint is recommend-
of the bolt after 48 hours. ed. This can be achieved by using a prevailing nut
(ISO 7040) or by securing the joint chemically.
I can’t recommend using 5 or more contact surfaces
in a joint. Basic joints:
The most common joint is a hexagon bolt with a
Conditions of the clamping surfaces: shaft acc. ISO 4014, a nut acc ISO 4032 and washer
It is important that the contact surfaces are clean acc. ISO 7089/7090, connecting the two parts using
and dry to secure the integrity of a bolted joint. a through going hole.
The picture shows the most common type of bolt
Liquid or solid corrosion protection and paint must connection. When tightening the bolt, it is very
always be removed from the actual joint. Roughness important that the bolt is going fully through the nut.
and flatness are important factors as well as if the As a minimum, the length from the nut to the end of
joint is of “primary”. In this case, the contact surfaces the bolt must be LU min 2-3 x thread pitc.
should be have a roughness of maximum 16 Rz.

17
In some cases, a distance bush can be added to obtain the compression forces from the bolt. A bush-
reach the recommended clamping length. If you use ing like the one below is quite expensive so I recom-
a bushing, you must design a customised one. The mend using a smaller bolt instead.
wall thickness of the bushing must be sufficient to

Blind hole joint: If you consider this solution, you must be aware of
In this case, the thread is placed on one of the joined the strength of the threaded material as well as the
parts. thread runout of the bolt.

18
The thread runout “Lu” of the bolt is the chamfer
at the end, where the thread nut is expected to be
complete.
For this reason, the thread is not calculated as a part
of the load transferring in the joint.
The thread is complete at a distance of 2-3 x P from
the bolt end.

Counterbore bolt connection: This type of joint is widely used in workshop ma-
A counterbore is often used if several parts needs chines.
to be assembled in a sequence or a part must be
replaced without disassembling the whole assembly.
The joint have a full clamping force but use less
space than a normal Hex bolt.

19
Counter sunk connection: bolt tip in the threaded hole. In addition, the end of
This type of connection is widely used if the top must the tap will include a conical hole due to the shape
be levelled and/or the connecting part is thin of the drill bit.
and the upper side must be levelled e.g. walkways.
Though, this can’t be recommended as a primary
joint.

The tapped bolt connection must be handled with

care if the bolt is large. Furthermore, it is not recom-
mended for bolts larger than M42. However, it is still
reliable for small bolted connections.

Due to the shape of the head, this screw has limited In the table below, you will find different thread
loadability. lengths depending on the material proporties.
If it is mounted in a through going hole, it is recom-
mended to tighten the nut and use the hex hole on Thread overlap:
the screw as counterhold. If the bolt is mounted in a blind hole or a thread is
If you use more countersunk holes in a part, you made in one of the parts in the joints, it is important
must control the tolerances between the holes. to ensure that the thread engagement is sufficient to
NB! Always check your supplier’s recommendation retain the clamping and mounting forces of the bolt.
related to load and torque.
In general, the stronger material, the less thread
Tapped hole: engagement is required.
The design of the tapped bolt connection depends
on the strength of the plate where the bolt hole is The following recommendations are from VDI 2230
drilled into. and I have added the recommendation for the practi-
The length of the thread must be a minimum re- cality of the joint.
quired length to ensure that there is no rupture of
the thread and prevent the bolt from failing due to
rupture of the thread.
There must be at least 2P of free thread below the

20
An overlap L / D ≥ 2.0 is not recommended seeing In the following table, you can find an overview of
that the bolt can lock itself due to the elongation in the most common overlaps of materials.
the thread relative to the thread tolerances.

An overlap L / D ≤0.8 is not recommended either

because of the load transfer between the bolt and
the thread.

21
As the thread nut is complete at the end of a bolt or
screw, an additional distance must be added if the
bolts are mounted in a blind hole. The additional
length is 2-3 Pitch on the bolt.

To simplify this, you can use the following values as a

guideline:

Multiple holes:
If you need to include more bolts in a joint, you must
take some minimum and maximum dimensions
between the holes and from the edges into consider-
ation.
This way, you ensure that all bolts are loaded as well
as prevent the material between the bolts to be
ripped apart because of insufficient material in this
region.

You can find the recommendations in EN 1993-1-8:

2005.

22
“D” is the bolt diameter and “t” is the smallest mate-
rial thickness in the joint.

23
Clamping forces for the different sizes

The obtained clamping force in a bolted joint de- A low friction is not necessarily the obvious choice.
pends on different parameters. I recommend to find a stabile lubricant which have
a low scatter effect and fulfills the other needed
The internal friction inside the thread and beneath requirements.
the bolt head is one of the main drivers to obtain the
right clamping force in a joint. For this reason, it is The table on page 25 contains some of the typical
very important to lubricate the bolt on all the sliding maximum values and a tightening factor αa which
surfaces. Normally, this is the thread part and below can reduce the value of the clamping force.
the bolt head or at the contact surface on the nut. The torque and the clamping value changes slightly
at different friction values.
The preferable lubricant depends on several factors The table below is an example of how the values can
such as environmental, temperature, approved for be extracted from the table:
food, interational to corrosion protection etc.
1. Select the "M-size" and grade
List of selected lubricants: 2. Decide the minimum of friction which gives you
Kema: Never Seez RG 1100 (preferred at R&D) the clamping force in kN
Molycote: Molycote 1000 3. Use the previous friction coefficient to determine
Rocol: Anti-Seize compound the applied torque
Statoil: Multi Dope Yellow

24
25
Tightening methods of fasteners

As you design a bolted joint, you must consider how By using the αa factor, the clamping force is reduced
to tighten the bolt. to detect a minimum clamping force on the bolts.

The safety factor(αa) can vary depending on the Example:

concerned method and must be subtracted to have a Clamping force: 28kN.
safe joint. The bolts are tightened with a manual torque
wrench, then an αa factor of 1,4 is used.
Torque: The minimum clamping load is then estimated to be
A torque wrench is the most common way to tighten 28kN -17% = 23,24N.
a bolt. The torque wrench can be carried out manu- Then the clamping force in this joint can be estimat-
ally, electrically or hydraulic. ed to be within the range 23,24-32,76N
One major disadvantage using this method: small
changes in frictional conditions can lead to more
significant shifts in bolt preload.

Angular controlled tightening:

Angular controlled tightening is also known as "turn
of nut". The bolt is tightened to a defined angle.
This method is more accurate than using torque, but
a major drawback is that it requires a calculation of
each bolted joint and/or bolt length.

Tension:
Direct tension is also a possibility, especially if the
bolt has a clamping ratio of 5 or more. It is mainly Elongation measurement:
used on larger bolts such as M30. There are several elongation measurement methods.
Though, the bolt must be at least an M20 or larger
Some of the typical αa factors are listed in the follow- and minimum 200 mm long.
ing table (values from VDI 2230 Blatt 1). We have summed up the three most common meth-
ods, including benefits and disadvantages:

1. Mechanical:
It can help determine the preload of the bolt and the
system does not require any additional equipment.
Though, the system requires special preparation of
the bolt and can only be used to detect whether the
bolt is loose or not.

26
2. Ultrasonic transmitter:
The system is able to control the preload of the
bolts, including on a long-term basis. Furthermore, it
enables full traceability of the bolt.
You need to invest in additional equipment.

3. Ultrasonic measurement:
You can use the system to detect the preload when
tightening the bolt as well as to control the tighten-
ing process. As a bonus, the system stops automati-
cally when the right pretension is obtained.
Full traceability of the bolts is possible.
It is a cheap and flexible method compared to the
above-mentioned methods. Furthermore, it does not
require any special preparation of the bolt.
Additional equipment is required.

27
Control of a bolted joint

There exists a wide range of methods. However, I will and retighten it or replace it with a new bolt.
only point out the most common methods.
In my opinion, it is a very reliable method.
The most common method is to retorque the bolt,
using the initial mounting torque and detect whether Depending on the type of elongation measurement,
the bolt rotates or not. it is also a quite effective method. Our Bolt-Check
If you know the mounting torque, it is a straightfor- system is a good example hereupon.
ward method.
Though, the method relies on the chosen lubricant
which must be active at the time of the control.

In general, this is an unsafe method and in some

joints not worth much.

If you used the angular control method to tighten

your bolts, it is more difficult to check the bolts see-
ing that the applied torque is normally unknown.
It is possible to estimate the applied torque accord-
ing to the position where the bolthead is marked.
Following, you can loosen the bolt and retighten it.
The new position of the bolthead will indicate if the
bolt has been installed correctly. Though, you should
expect that the new position is a little ahead of the
original position due to the normal behaviour of the
joint.

Overall, it is a reliable method but it is very time-con-

suming.

If you used the tension tightening method, you need

to reapply the tension tool. If you have tightened the
bolt correctly, the nut should be in the same position
- or rotated a bit due to the normal behaviour of the
joint.

This is a pretty reliable method.

Depending on which type of elongation measure-

ment you have used, it is possible to measure the ex-
pected pretension while the bolt remains tightened.
If the bolt is not prepared for it, you have to loosen it

28
Smart selection table

The following table gives you an overview of the most common sizes and availability of dimensions.

29
About R&D

R&D is an international engineering company which

supplies knowledge and turnkey deliveries to cus-
tomers within a wide range of industries.

We approach the challenges of our customers from

numerous angles to create world-class engineering
- from heavy-duty test systems and lifting solutions
for the wind industry to product development and
automation for the industry.

Due to our broad industry knowledge and highly

specialised engineers, we are able to provide our
customers with the right expertise to execute their
projects; from consultancy to turnkey delivery.

Our ambition is to develop individualised and inno-

vatory solutions which add substantial value to our
customers' companies.

About the author:

Flemming Nielsen has worked with bolt related tasks
within the wind industry for more than 20 years. His
profound knowledge within the area makes him a
trusted and requested specialist.
Furthermore, Flemming Nielsen has been a major
part in the development of R&D's bolt measurement
system Bolt-Check.

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