Engineering Failure Analysis 11 (2004) 915924

www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Failure analysis of a SAE 4340 steel locking bolt

M.T. Milan a, D. Spinelli
a

a,*
,

W.W. Bose Filho a, M.F.V. Montezuma a, V. Tita

Nemaf (N

ucleo de Ensaios de Materiais e An
alises de Falhas), Department of Materials, Aeronautics and Automotive Engineering,
University of Sao Paulo, Av. Trabalhador Sao-carlense 400, Sao Carlos 13566-590, Brazil
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering School of S~ao Carlos University of S~ao Paulo,
CEP: 13566-590, S~ao Carlos, SP, Brazil
Received 12 December 2003; accepted 18 December 2003
Available online 6 March 2004

Abstract
Several SAE 4340 steel locking bolts used to assemble speed reducer housings fractured after a few hours of operation. Micrographic and macrographic analyses, scanning electron microscopy techniques, tensile, impact and
hardness testing were used to fully characterize the component and material properties. Stress calculations were performed using both Neuber analysis and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and the results were compared. Cracks nucleated at the root of the last engaged thread due to a combination of high local stresses in this region, surface defects,
non-uniformity of the thread root and low toughness of the material. After nucleation, the crack propagated by fatigue
until the catastrophic failure.

2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Fasteners; Fatigue; Finite element analysis; Thread rolling; Stress concentrations

1. Introduction
Several locking bolts used for assembly speed reducer housings fractured after a few hours of operation.
One example of the bolt fracture surfaces can be seen in Fig. 1. In all cases, the fracture took place starting
from the root of the last engaged thread. The bolt was manufactured out of a SAE 4340 steel, quenched and
tempered in order to result in the mechanical properties given in Table 1.
Dimensions and geometry of the bolt are given in Fig. 2. Threads were cold rolled after the heat treating,
machined to a root radius of 0.577 mm and angle of 60, as specied for the metric thread M100
4h13. A

Corresponding author. Tel.: +55-016-271-9333/+55162739577; fax: +55-016-271-9241/+552739590.

E-mail address: dspinell@sc.usp.br (D. Spinelli).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter
2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2003.12.003

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M.T. Milan et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 11 (2004) 915924

Nomenclature
enom
nominal strain
et
total elongation
E
Youngs modulus
En
Charpy energy
K
monotonic strain hardening coecient
Kt
elastic stress concentration factor
Kr
stress concentration factor
Ke
strain concentration factor
n
monotonic strain hardening exponent
r
thread root radius
RA
Reduction of area
Snom
nominal stress
Sy (0.2%) 0.2% oset yield strength
t
thickness
e
local strain
c
coecient of load relief
r
local stress
rr
true ultimate tensile strength
ryy
thread root longitudinal stress
FEA Finite Element Analysis
HBS
Brinell hardness measured using steel indenter
UTS
ultimate tensile strength

Fig. 1. Fractured bolt.

Table 1
Nominal mechanical properties, as specied by the manufacturer
UTS (MPa)

Sy (0.2%) (MPa)

et (%)

HBS

En (J)

11001300

>900

>10

335385

35

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917

Fig. 2. Dimensions and geometry of the bolt. The nut and the fractured region are also shown schematically. All dimensions are
in mm.

tensile pre-stress of approximately 492 MPa was applied to the bolt by a hydraulic system in order to
assemble the nut on the housing.

2. Methods

The following procedures were applied in the current investigation:

Chemical analysis;
Macrographic analysis;
Micrographic analysis;
Hardness measurements;
Impact testing;
Tensile testing;
Scanning electron microscopy;
Neuber analysis;
Finite element analysis.

3. Results and analysis

3.1. Chemical analysis
Chemical analysis results are presented in Table 2. The obtained values are within the intervals specied
for the SAE 4340 steel.

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M.T. Milan et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 11 (2004) 915924

Table 2
Chemical analysis results (in wt%)

Nominal
Obtained

Si

Mn

Cr

Ni

Mo

0.380.43
0.40

0.150.35
0.22

0.600.80
0.70

0.03 max
0.027

0.04 max
0.01

0.700.90
0.86

1.652.00
1.75

0.200.30
0.21

Fig. 3. Fracture surface of the bolt.

Fig. 4. Detail of the probable region of crack nucleation.

3.2. Macrography
Fig. 3 shows a macrograph of the fracture surface of the bolt where both slow and fast fracture regions
are clearly observed. Additionally, beach marks can be observed on the fracture surface, which is a typical
feature of the fatigue crack propagation mechanism. Fig. 4 details the most likely region of crack nucleation
at the thread root, revealing several surface irregularities.

M.T. Milan et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 11 (2004) 915924

919

Fig. 5. Optical micrograph of the thread root immediately below the fracture surface (Nital 2%).

3.3. Micrography
Fig. 5 depicts a micrograph of a transverse section of the threaded region immediately below the fracture
surface. The deformation lines due to the rolling process are seen below the thread root. The microstructure
consists of ferritic regions alternating with tempered martensite and/or bainite regions. The root is not
uniform and several geometrical irregularities are observed. The measured thread root radius was
approximately 0.340 mm and therefore smaller than the specied value for the M100 thread, which is
0.577 mm.
3.4. Mechanical properties
Mechanical properties are presented in Table 3. Tensile test results and hardness values indicated that
the material is in accordance with the nominal limits specied by the manufacturer (Table 1). However,
Charpy impact tests revealed lower values of absorbed energy than specied in Table 1, suggesting that the
heat treatment procedure could have caused embrittlement of the steel.
3.5. Fractography
Fig. 6 presents the most likely region of crack nucleation, where a large number of surface defects are
seen on the thread. These defects are probably a consequence of the debris crushed between the roller and
Table 3
Actual mechanical properties
Tespiece

UTS
(MPa)

rr a
(MPa)

Sy (0.2%)
(MPa)

et (%)

RA (%)

E (GPa)

Kb
(MPa)

nb

HBS

En (J)

1
2
3
4

1288
1238
1228
1238

1350
1291
1277
1286

1071
1020
1014
1018

15
13
16
14

58
55
53
54

184
183
188
188

1721
1675
1659
1724

0.0725
0.0755
0.0749
0.0814

350
360
363
355

23.5
18.7
20.9

Average

1248

1301

1031

14

55

186

1695

0.0760

357

21.0

a
b

Calculated using rr Sr 1 e.
Measured for plastic strain above 0.2%.

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M.T. Milan et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 11 (2004) 915924

Fig. 6. (a) Most likely region of crack nucleation. (b) Region indicated by the arrow.

the thread during the rolling process. These defects contribute to increase the stress concentration factor in
this region.
3.6. Neuber analysis
The stress concentration factor, Kt , is given by the ratio between the local stress, r, in the discontinuity
and the nominal stress, Snom , applied to the net section containing the discontinuity:
Kt

r
Snom

For threaded sections, Neuber [1] proposed the following equation for the determination of Kt :
Kt 1 2

tc 1=2
r

where t is the notch depth, r is the root radius and c is the coecient of load relief due to the decrease in the
stress concentration factor caused by a series of identical closely spaced notches or grooves.
In the present case, t 2:454 mm and c 0:44 [1]. Therefore, a Kt value of 4.56 for the measured root
radius, r 0:340 mm, was found. If the nominal root radius r 0:577 mm is considered, then Kt 3:74.
Eqs. (1) and (2) are valid provided that the local stresses remain below the yield strength of the material.
Considering the nominal tensile pre-stress of 492 MPa applied to the bolt in order to assemble the nut, for
both root radii analyzed (0.340 and 0.577 mm) the estimated local stresses calculated according to Eq. (1)
are higher than the yield strength of the material and therefore, localized plastic deformation occurs at the
notch root. In this case, r is related to Snom by the following relation:
Kr

r
Snom

for r > Sy :

In terms of strain, the above equation can be rewritten as:

Ke

e
enom

for r > Sy :

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921

However, it is well known that the elastic Kt can be correlated to Kr and Ke through the following
relationship [2]:
Kt

p
Kr Ke :

Substituting Eqs. (3) and (4) in Eq. (5) and rearranging this equation, it is found that r and e are
correlated by the equation of a hyperbola:
2

re

Kt Snom
:
E

Additionally, r and e are related by the true stressstrain curve:

e

r
r 1n

;
E
K

where K and n are the monotonic strain hardening coecient and monotonic strain hardening exponent,
respectively.
Inserting Eq. (7) into Eq. (6), the local stress, r, can be obtained:



2
r
r 1n
Kt Snom
:

r
E
K
E

The above equation can be determined analytically by iteration techniques or graphically through the
intersection of the true stressstrain curve and Neubers hyperbola.
Fig. 7 shows the results obtained for the present investigation. Calculated values show that the estimated
local stress at the thread root is almost as high as the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the material.
Considering the nominal root radius (r 0:577 mm) the calculated stress was approximately 1184 MPa
which is 91% of the UTS. Instead, if the measured root radius is taken into account (r 0:340 mm), the
local stress is 1233 MPa (95% of UTS). However, these results must be seen with some care because the nut

1600

(local stress) (MPa)

UTS= 1301MPa
1233MPa
1200 1184MPa
Neubers hiperbola for r=0.340mm
Neubers hiperbola for r=0.577mm
True stress-strain curve

800

400

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

(local strain)
Fig. 7. True stressstrain curve and Neubers hyperbola obtained for the bolt.

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M.T. Milan et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 11 (2004) 915924

was not taken into account in the stress concentration factor calculations. It is well known that bolts
typically fail from the last engaged thread due to the higher stress concentration that occurs in this region
[3]. Therefore, the stress results provided by Neuber analysis are likely to be non-conservative.
3.7. Finite element stress analysis
The nite element code ANSYS was used to determine the stress distribution in the locking bolt when
subjected to the load and constraints of operational conditions. In order to reduce the complexity of the
analysis, a bi-dimensional model was used to simulate the bolt geometry. A uniform tensile stress of 492
MPa was applied to the modeled bolt either with or without the nut assembled in order to simulate the
assembling loading conditions. In the latter case, for the sake of simplicity, it was assumed that the housing
to which the bolt is assembled is perfectly rigid, i.e., the applied stress is totally transmitted to the bolt and
no stress relaxation occurs. Fig. 8 shows a schematic representation of both situations. The nite element
Plane 42 used in the analysis is the 4-node with two degrees of freedom in each node (x and y displacements), assuming an axisymmetric stress state. The mesh contains 25,975 nodes and 25,088 elements.
The nut-thread contact was simulated by restricting the normal displacements on the lower surface of the
thread, as seen in Fig. 9. The true stressstrain curve was used as the input information for the elasto-plastic
material model, assuming Von Mises yield criterion, multilinear isotropic hardening and associative ow
rule.
Results show that when the load is applied to the bolt without the nut assembled, the estimated longitudinal stress at the thread root, ryy , remains nearly constant in all threads. For the actual root radius

Fig. 8. Schematic representation of the constraints and loading conditions imposed on the simulated bolt: (a) without the nut; (b) with
the nut.

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923

Fig. 9. Details of the mesh near the threaded region: (a) without the nut; (b) with the nut.

(r 0:340 mm), ryy is estimated as approximately 1260 MPa. When the nominal root radius is considered
(r 0:577 mm), the estimated ryy yields a value of 1150 MPa. These results compare very well with those
obtained by Neuber analysis.
However, when the nut is assembled on the threaded region of the bolt, a dierent picture emerges. In
this case, for both root radii considered in the analysis, there is a peak stress at the last engaged thread,
which is higher than the UTS of the material (Fig. 10). Although this peak stress is likely to be a conservative value because the housing is not perfectly rigid, it is a close approximation of the actual true stress
developed at the thread root. Therefore, if the nut is taken into account, the conclusion is that a crack will
nucleate at the root of the last engaged thread when the bolt is loaded in tension and the nut is assembled.

30
25
Nut region
Last engaged
thread

Thread

20
15
10

1760MPa
r=0.340mm

FEA results for r=0.577mm

FEA results for r=0.340mm

500

1000

1620MPa
r=0.577mm

1500

Thread root longitudinal stress, yy (MPa)

Fig. 10. Thread root longitudinal stress against thread position.

2000

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M.T. Milan et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 11 (2004) 915924

As soon as the crack initiates, the peak ryy stress is partially relieved and the crack propagates by fatigue
until the catastrophic failure takes place.

4. Conclusions
The locking bolt used for assembling speed reducer housings failed due to the high stresses developed at
the thread root as a consequence of the applied assembly load. Additionally, it is important to highlight
that other factors such as surface defects, thread root radius smaller than the nominal value and low
toughness of the material also contributed to the crack nucleation process.

5. Recommendations
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Reduce the assembly load.

Increase the thread radius.
Reassess the heat treatment procedure in order to increase the toughness properties of the steel.
Improve the control of the surface rolling process to avoid defects and non-uniformity of root radius.

Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to the Department of Mechanical Engineering School of Engineering of S~ao
Carlos USP for providing access to the Finite Element Code ANSYS used in this work and to Renk
Zanini S.A. Brazil for authorizing the publication of this work.

References
[1] Neuber H. Theory of notch stress: principles for exact calculation of strength with reference to structure form and materials.
Washigton DC, USA: Oce of Technical Services, Department of Commerce; 1964.
[2] Bannantine JA, Comer JJ, Handrock JL. Fundamentals of metal fatigue analysis. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.; 1990.
[3] Peterson RE. Stress concentration factors. New York: Wiley; 1974.