ME311 Machine Design

Lecture 9: Screws
(Chapter 16)

W Dornfeld
05Nov2009 Fairfield University
School of Engineering
 Thread Geometry
1
Thread Pitch n (Threads / inch ) 
p

Crest Thread Height

Major Thread
Angle
Pitch
Root
Minor

Diameters The Pitch Diameter

is midway between
the Major and Minor
Diameters.

Hamrock
Page 707
 Thread Types
Lead = Lead =
1 x Pitch 3 x Pitch

Single-, double-, and triple-threaded screws.

Also called single-, double-, and triple-start.

Acme Square
Thread Thread

Hamrock
Acme threads are used in C-Clamps, vices, and cartoons. Page 708
 Details of Thread Profiles

Thread Height
0.5 p
ht   0.8660 p
tan( 30)

Relationships for M (metric) and UN (unified = US) screw threads.

Example:
UN: ¼-20, means 0.25in. Major diameter & 20 threads/inch.
M: M8x1.25, means 8mm Major diameter & pitch of 1.25mm
Hamrock
Page 708
 Power Screws
Load
W on nut
Looking at a square
m Thread
friction thread screw, we unwind
one turn:
a Lead
Lead
rm 2p rm
Mean
thread
This shows an inclined
radius
mc
ramp with angle
Mean r Collar
1 Lead
a  tan
c friction
collar radius
2p rm
The Mean Radius is midway
between the Crest and Root Radii.
 Square Thread Screw Torque
W
m
The torque required to
raise the load W is
 m  tan a 
Lead
rm
Traise  W rm  m c rc 
 1  m tan a  mc
rc
and to lower the load, we
flip two signs:
 m  tan a 
Tlower  W rm  m c rc 
 1  m tan a 
Hamrock
Page 715
 Power Screw Thread Angle
If the thread form is not square but has an angle b,
replace the thread friction m with the effective friction
m
me 
cos( b / 2)
b The effect:
• Square: b = 0, b/2 = 0, 1/cos(0°) = 1.0
• Acme: b = 29°, b/2 = 14.5°, 1/cos(14.5°) = 1.033
• Unified: b = 60°, b/2 = 30°, 1/cos(30°) = 1.15
The thread angle effectively increases surface friction between 3 and 15%

Note: Instead of b/2, Hamrock uses  n  tan (cos a tan b 2)

1

The difference is negligible.

 Power Screws - Overhauling
If the collar friction is small (e.g., it may have a
ball thrust bearing), too small a thread friction
may let the weight screw down on its own.
Lead
This can happen when m  tan a 
2p rm
(the numerator m  tan a goes negative).
m
 m  tan a 0
Tlower  W rm  m c rc  a Lead
 1  m tan a 
2p rm
This is the same case for a weight sliding down a ramp
when the incline angle a exceeds tan-1m.
 Ball Screws Have Low Friction

Recirculating balls roll between ball screw

and ball nut to minimize friction.

These almost always overhaul.

 1015 Lb
Our Scissors Jack
1522 Lb Tension

Handle End with ball End with nut

thrust bearing
 Scissors Jack Analysis
Thread ID = 0.398 in. Lead = 0.10 in.
Thread OD = 0.468 in. Thread angle b = 29°
Estimate dp= (0.398+0.468)/2 Guess m = 0.20
= 0.433 in. mc = 0 due to bearing
Handle length = 135/25.4 = 5.31 in. W = 1522 Lb.

What torque is required to raise the jack?

What force is required on the handle?
 C-Clamp Analysis
Thread ID = 0.391 in.
Thread OD = 0.480 in.
Handle length = 3 in.
N = 8 Threads/Inch
Thread angle b = 60°
Guess m = 0.15
mc = 0 to simplify things
W = 500 Lb.

What torque is required to cause

the 500 Lb. squeeze?
Note: If Acme, could use Eqn. 16.4
d p  d c  0.5 p  0.01  0.48  (0.5)(0.125)  0.01  0.4075 in.
But with a 60° thread angle, this is NOT an Acme.
Estimate dp= (ID+OD)/2 = (0.390+0.480)/2 = 0.436 in.
 Using Dornfeld Lecture Equations
dp= 0.436 in. Thread angle b = 60°
N = 8 Threads/Inch m = 0.15
Lead = 1/N = 0.125 in. W = 500 Lb.
Lead 0.125
a  tan 1  tan 1  tan 1 (0.09126)  5.21
2p rm 2p (0.436 / 2)
Because this is not a square thread, must use effective coefficient of
friction = m/cos(b/2) = 0.15/cos(30°) = 0.15/0.866 = 0.1732

 m  tan a 0   0.436 0.1732  0.09126 

Traise  W rm  mc rc   500  
 1  m tan a   2 1  ( 0.1732)( 0.09126) 

0.26446
 (500)(0.218)  29.29 Lb.In.
0.9842
 Using Hamrock Equations
dp= 0.436 in. Thread angle b = 60°
N = 8 Threads/Inch m = 0.15
Lead = 1/N = 0.125 in. W = 500 Lb.
Lead
a  tan 1  5.21 ; tan( a )  0.09126
2p rm
b
 n  tan 1 (cos a tan )  tan 1 (cos 5.21 tan 30)  tan 1 (0.9959  0.57735)
2
 n  tan (0.57496)  29.897
1
How close is this to b/2 = 30°?
 (d p / 2)(cos  n tan a  m ) 0 
 (0.436 / 2)(cos 29.9 tan 5.21  0.15) 
Traise  W   mc rc   500 
 cos  n  m tan a   cos 29 .9  0.15 tan 5.21

(0.866)(0.09126)  0.15 0.22903

 (500)(0.218)  (109)  29.29 Lb.In.
0.866  (0.15)(0.09126) 0.85231
[Eqn. 16.10]
The equations are equivalent. Pick whichever one suits you best.
 Overhauling Revisited
• Power screws can lower all by themselves if the friction
becomes less than the tangent of the lead angle, a.
• This corresponds to the numerator in the Tlower equation going
negative, with the transition being where the numerator is Zero.
• You can use either Dornfeld or Hamrock equation, but
remember that the Dornfeld equation is Effective friction, and you
must multiply by cos(b/2) to get the actual friction.

Hamrock: Transition when:

 (d p / 2)( m  cos  n tan a ) 
Tlower W  mc rc 
 cos  n  m tan a  m  cos  n tan a
Dornfeld:
 m  tan a  me  tan a
Tlower  W rm  mc rc  m  me cos( b / 2)  cos( b / 2) tan a
 1  m tan a 

The equations are equivalent. Pick whichever one suits you best.
Failure Modes: Tensile Overload

When the tensile stress on a bolt exceeds the

material’s Proof Strength, the bolt will
permanently stretch.
P
 Where At is the Tensile Stress Area for
At the bolt – the equivalent area of a
section cut through the bolt.

For UN threads,
 0.9743 
2
dc = Crest Dia (in.)
At  (0.7854) d c   n = threads/in.
 n 
For M threads,
At  (0.7854)( d c  0.9382 p) 2 dc = Crest Dia (mm)
p = pitch (mm)
Hamrock
Page 731
 Failure Modes: Thread Shear

Shear of Nut Threads The shear strength Shear of Bolt Threads

of the bolt and nut
Ashear  pdcrestl material may not Ashear  pd rootl
be the same.
 Failure Modes: Shank Shear

pd 2 pd shank
2
pd shank
2

Ashear  shank Ashear  2  

4 4 2

Bolts are not really intended to be used this way unless they are
Shoulder Bolts:

Typically the preload from tightening the bolt clamps the joint,
and the friction between the members holds the joint.
 Bolt Preload
JH Bickford explains :
'When we tighten a bolt,
( a) we apply torque to the nut,
( b) the nut turns,
( c) the bolt stretches,
( d) creating preload.'

So the bolt is really a spring that stretches

and creates preload on the joint.

We use the Power Screw equations to determine how torque results

in preload. This can be approximated simply by:
T  KDcrest P
Where T is torque, Dcrest is the bolt crest diameter, P is the preload,
and K is a dimensionless constant. K = 0.20 for clean, dry threads
and K = 0.15 for lubricated threads.
 Bolt Stiffness
A bolt looks like two
springs in series: one
rod with the Crest
diameter and one with
Lshank the Root diameter.
Their lengths are
increased to reflect the
Lthread head and nut.

1 4  Ls  0.4d c Lt  0.4d r 
   
kb pE  dc2
d r2 
Hamrock
Page 725
 Bolt Stiffness Exercise
Calculate the stiffness of a 3/8-16 screw that is
4 in. long and clamps 3.5” of material. Use
Eqn. 16.23 to determine shank length.

Lshank
Lclamp Lt in
Lbolt 16.22/23
Lthread
Lthread
Lt in
16.21

Note: Hamrock uses Lt in Eqns. 16.21 and

16.22/23, BUT THEY ARE DIFFERENT THINGS!
In 16.21 it is the Clamped thread length; Hamrock
in 16.22/23 it is Total thread length. Page 726
 Joint Stiffness
The material clamped by
the bolt also acts like a
spring – in compression.
Effectively, only the material
in the red double conical
area matters.
There are many methods to
calculate this stiffness.
Compare these calculator
stiffness results from
tribology-abc.com with
Hamrock’s Example 16.6

Hamrock
Page 727
 How Bolt Preload Works

Preload isolates the bolt from most of any external loads.

The joint stiffness factor, Cj, determines what fraction of
external loads the bolt actually sees.
kb
Cj  Hamrock
kb  k j Eqn. 16.17
From Norton, Chap. 14
 Bolt Strength

For Metric grades, the first number x 100 = Sut in MPa. The
fraction x Sut = Sy. Ex: grade 12.9 has Sut ≈1200 MPa and
Sy ≈ 0.9x1200 = 1080 MPa.
Hamrock
Page 731
 Bolt Loading
Generally, bolts are preloaded to: Ultimate
• 75% of Proof Load for reused 0.2%Yield
connections
• 90% of Proof Load for permanent Proof
connections
where Proof Load = Proof Strength x At.

The Proof Strength is approximately at

the elastic limit for the material.

Hamrock
Page 733
Recommended Site:
BoltScience.com