Theory of Rod Bolts and Other Prestressed Bolts http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/rodbolts/rodbolts.

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Theory of Rod Bolts and Other Prestressed Bolts

Vance Jaqua

Originally published May 1997

With a recent dramatic demonstration of what a connecting rod bolt failure can do to an engine, and with
a AD dealing with poor rod bolts out on the market, it seems like a subject many of us might be interested
in.

The connecting rod is one of the first areas of concern when ever one feels that he has overstressed his
engine. "It threw a rod" is a common cry after a disastrous engine failure, or as our British cousins would
say in their often more descriptive way "I ran a big end and retired with expensive noises". We seldom
truly "throw" a rod, the usual failure is that the rod to crank bearing material (the "big end") breaks down
from over stress or more commonly lack of lubrication. Accelerated wear then makes a large clearance,
and the remaining soft bearing material is pounded out with large clanking noises.

The highest tensile force on the rod and bolts happens when the throttle is closed at high rpm. The rod and
piston are being accelerated downward at close to 700 "Gs" and the crankcase pressure (ambient or
greater) is pushing upward against inlet pressure which is near zero absolute from manifold vacuum. In an
engine like the Lycoming O-360 this load is probably on the order of 6000 lbs (I don't have a good
number for the weight of the piston or rod, but this is probably a pretty good estimate). The highest
compressive load is near top dead center in a full throttle power stroke where the pressure can peak over
1000 psi. The acceleration of the piston and rod compensate partly for this pressure loading, but it
probably peaks at a about 10000 pounds compressive load.

Now the rod bolts on an engine like this are not particularly impressive, being about a 5/16 inch thread,
and a reduced section about 1/4 inch diameter (to match the thread root diameter). The load of 6000
pounds spread between the 2 bolts would correspond to a stress level, a bit over 61,000 psi. Well that is
pretty scary, but isn't that bolt good for over 150,000 psi? Well, yes and no. For steady state loading that
would show a safety factor of over 2, but there is that little thing called "endurance limit" for cyclic loads.
This is the stress level for repetitive loads that will let you last a million cycles (ten to the sixth for you
scientific notation types). For most steel alloys this value is about half the steady state value (or 150,000
is now down to 75,000). And on top of that the stress concentration factor for a standard thread form is
about 3 to 1 (oops! we're down to 25,000 and in big trouble). It also might be worth mentioning that a
million cycles at 2700 rpm is just a little over 6 hours (that won't get me half way to Oshkosh).

Well, it obviously works better than that--so what is the secret? The answer is preload. If a bolted joint is
preloaded by bolt pretension torque to a load greater than the cyclic load IT WILL NOT SEE ANY
ALTERNATING LOAD AT ALL. For example if we preload the connecting rod joint to 10,000 pounds,
the stress on the stretched bolt cannot increase until the tension load overcomes the locked up
compression in the joint, and the surfaces start to separate. Until that point is reached, the forces will just
reduce the effective compressive forces on the surface, and the bolt load stays the same. This is hard to
visualize, but it is definitely true. For example if a 200 pound man stands on a box on the floor, and you
try 100 pounds worth to pick up the box. You have reduced how hard the box is pressing on the floor but
you have not increased the 200 pounds force that his feet are putting on the box. Now replace that man
with a clamped down spring with 200 pounds of force, the situation is the same, as you lift on the box you
do not change the force until you have lifted the box off the floor (exceeded the 200 pounds force) and are
further compressing the spring. The bolts in the rod are really springs as you will see in a bit.

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With a bolt it is very difficult to know how much preload you have applied. Just whip out your calibrated
torque wrench you say? BZZZZZZZZ WRONG! The torque wrench is directly dependent upon the
friction in the threads, and on the thrust faces of the bolt or nut, and this friction is widely influenced by a
whole bag full of things - surface finish, smooth or rough - lubrication, amount or lack of it - fit of the
thread - you name it and it can vary all over the map. To truly work the bolt to it's maximum potential a
preload as high as 80 percent of yield is required, and trying to work to that criteria with a torque wrench
can easily lead to permanent stretching and even cracking in the thread roots. The best method, and one
that is quite common for aircraft engines is torquing to an elastic elongation value. If you have access to
both ends of the bolt, and the surfaces are flat, you can measure the length of the bolt before final
tightening, and measure the few thousandths of an inch of stretching that indicates the desired amount of
prestress. All steel bolts have virtually the same elastic modulus - 30,000,000 pounds per inch per inch. If
your bolt has a working length of 2 inches a 100,000 psi prestress will lengthen it 0.0067 inches - a small
number but easily read on a good micrometer. The bolts frequently have the major length reduced to
roughly the same diameter as the thread root, it is just as strong (the weakest link is still the thread root
diameter), and the amount of stretch is increased at the same load (because the stress is more evenly
distributed along the length) for a better indication with the micrometer. If the bolt has been properly
hardened, such that this load is below yield, it will act like the very stiff spring that it really is, and relax
back to it's original length when unloaded, just like any other spring. If it is too soft (wrong material or
improper heat treat) it will yield to this dimension, and may have a crack, just as a spring made from a
wire that is not properly hardened does not return to the same length if you stretch it too much.

Many fancy systems are used to properly prestress bolts and studs which are not so easily measured as a
rod bolt. Properly designed bolts can be read for length by ultrasound in blind locations. Special load
measuring washers are available where an outer ring is free to spin until the design load is reached.
Special bolts are available with a pin indicator built into the head. However, in most cases the designer

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just doubles the bolt strength (goes to the next size up) and preloads with a torque wrench to a fraction of
the available working load, and just accepts the scatter in actual strength.

(Vance is an honorary member of Chapter 1000 and near full-time engineering advisor for High Tech
Composites and Tri-R Technologies. Be sure to catch his excellent article in the March 97 Experimenter
titled "Engine Myths & Old Mechanic's Tales" - ed)

EAA Chapter 1000 Home Page

E-Mail: Web Site Director Russ Erb at erbman@pobox.com

URL: http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/rodbolts/rodbolts.htm
Contents of The Leading Edge and these web pages are the viewpoints of the authors. No claim is made
and no liability is assumed, expressed or implied as to the technical accuracy or safety of the material
presented. The viewpoints expressed are not necessarily those of Chapter 1000 or the Experimental
Aircraft Association.
Revised -- 20 December 1997

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