LeJeuneBoltCompany

DACROMETCOATEDA490BOLTS

Burnsville, MN ASTM A490 Structural Bolts have historically been limited to plain finish due to the
potential for hydrogen embrittlement during coating using industry standard processes, namely zinc
coating mechanically deposited per ASTM B695 and/or Hot Dip per
ASTM A153. In 2008, ASTM approved the use of zinc/aluminum
protective coatings per ASTM F1136 for use on A490 structural bolts.
The most common of these coatings is sold under the trade name
Dacromet, produced by Metal Coatings International and applied by

certifiedapplicators.ThiscoatingwillrevolutionizethemarketforA490
bolts and provide for a much needed high strength structural fastener
withaprotectivefinish.
While ASTM tested and approved the coating, many issues remained for its practical use in the
marketplace. Questions relating to Dacromet grade and sealer combination and their relation to
desiredkfactor,nutovertapandrotationalcapacitytestingviabilityhavegoneessentiallyunanswered.

Untilnow.
Two recent projects specifying Dacromet coated A490s
wereawardedtoLeJeuneBoltCompany.
SelfAnchoredSuspensionSpan
(SAS)SanFranciscoOaklandBay
Bridge

The first major project awarded was the SAS Span for the
newSanFranciscoOaklandBayBridge.Thisprojectwasthe
first, and certainly the largest, to specify A490 bolts with
Dacromet coating. Nearly two years of research, product
Oakland,California
development, testing, and production has given LeJeune
AmericanBridgeFluorJV
unparalleledexperiencethatonlyaprojectofthismagnitude
can offer. The bridge designer specified A490M (metric)
boltswithDacromet.ThemetricA490isnotnormallyused
intheUnitedStatessotherewasnoavailablestock.Further,
there was no tooling or raw material at the manufacturing
level to produce these bolts. Finally, this quantity of
structuralgradefastenershadneverbeenprocessedthrough

anyofthelicensedDacrometapplicators.Thatswherewe
camein.LeJeunewasthecatalyst,bringingtogetherleading
manufacturersinthefastenerindustrytoaskandanswerthe
many questions needed to supply the contractor with
reliable, consistent fasteners. Through our extensive research and development stages, we identified
theoptimumcombinationofcoatinggrade,sealer,andnutovertapthatprovidedthemostconsistentk
factor.OurstudyshowedthatusingDacromet320grade3withPlusSealerontheboltandDacromet
320grade5withPlusSealeronthenutwithanovertapof.018andDacromet320grade3PlusSealer
onthewasherprovidedconsistentkfactorresultsintheoptimalrange.FortheDacrometapplication,

Formoreinformationcontactusatsales@lejeunebolt.com

www.lejeunebolt.comI3500WestHighway13,Burnsville,MN55337I800.872.2658

LeJeuneBoltCompany

DACROMETCOATEDA490BOLTS

wechosetheracksprayprocessfortheboltsandthedipspinmethodforthenutsandwashers.This
combination of processes provided for the most favorable combination of coating quality and
consistencywhileadheringtothebudget.LeJeuneBoltCompanyworkedwithABFJVtoevaluateand
writerotationalcapacityparametersthatdidnotexistfortheA490MboltwithDacromet.Thesetest
procedureshavebeenimplementedandarecurrentlyinuseonthisproject.Finally,weemployedfour
manufacturing sources and two Dacromet applicators to produce the finished material. We started
with an extensive audit and qualification process for each manufacturer. Once these audits were
approved by the contractor, we moved on to tooling design and manufacturing. Once tooling was in
place and raw material procured, manufacturing began in earnest to meet the rigorous critical path
deadlines. Material was received and processed according to our ISO based quality program.
Rotational Capacity Testing was performed in our lab and the material was certified. A CALTRANS
certified inspector was called in to sample material to be sent to the METS Lab for another round of
testing and approval. Once this was complete, CALTRANS
dispatched their inspector to our facility to tag and certify
the approved material for release. LeJeune then packaged
material according to the project release schedule and
IronOreConcentratorBuildings
shipped to the final destinations; shop bolts to the
Venezuela
fabricationfacilitylocated inShanghai, Chinaandfieldbolts
DuroFelgueraPlantasIndusriales
to the Oakland, California jobsite. What does two years of
research, development, testing, production, and inspection
undertherigorousscrutinyofAmericanBridgeFlourJVand
CALTRANS for the largest construction project in California
historymeanEVERYTHING!
For Duro Felguera, We took what we learned from our two
years of preparation on the SAS Bay Bridge Project and

delivered to them technical data and research unavailable

anywhereelseintheindustry.Thecontractorconsultedwith
us extensively throughout the bid stage. While we couldnt
always tell them what they wanted to hear, we always told
themwhattheyneededtohear.Well,theychoseLeJeune.Wewerenotthecheapest,ortheclosestto
acoastalportcity.Whatwewerewasthemostinformedofthebunchandwewerewillingtoshareour
informationbeforewewonthecontract.Ourphilosophyofprovidingvaluetotheindustry,nomatter
theoutcome,serveduswellonthisproject.Letusdothesameforyouonyournextproject.

Formoreinformationcontactusatsales@lejeunebolt.com

www.lejeunebolt.comI3500WestHighway13,Burnsville,MN55337I800.872.2658