Chapter – 8
Screws, Fasteners, and the Design of Nonpermanent Joints
Thread Standards and Definitions
The pitch is the distance between adjacent thread forms measured parallel to the thread axis. The pitch in
U.S. units is the reciprocal of the number of thread forms per inch N.
The major diameter (d) is the largest diameter of a screw thread.
The minor (or root) diameter (dr) is the smallest diameter of a screw thread.
The pitch diameter (dp) is a theoretical diameter between the major and minor diameters.
The lead (l) is the distance the nut moves parallel to the screw axis when the nut is given one turn. For a
single thread the lead is the same as the pitch.
A multiple-threaded product is one having two or more threads cut beside each other (imagine two or
more strings wound side by side around a pencil). Standardized products such as screws, bolts, and nuts
all have single threads; a double-threaded screw has a lead equal to twice the pitch, a triple-threaded
screw has a lead equal to 3 times the pitch, and so on.
All threads are made according to the right-hand rule unless otherwise noted. That is, if the bolt is turned
clockwise, the bolt advances toward the nut.
Table 8–1 Diameters and Areas of Coarse-Pitch and Fine-Pitch Metric Threads*
Metric threads are specified by writing the diameter and pitch in millimeters, in that order. Thus,
M12×1.75 is a thread having a nominal major diameter of 12 mm and a pitch of 1.75 mm.
Note that the letter M, which precedes the diameter, is the clue to the metric designation.
Unified threads are specified by stating the nominal major diameter, the number of threads per inch,
and the thread series, for example, ⅝ in-18 UNRF or 0.625 in-18 UNRF.
Square and Acme threads
Square and Acme threads are generally used on screws when power is to be transmitted.
The Mechanics of Power Screws
A power screw is a device used in machinery to change angular motion into linear motion, and,
usually, to transmit power.
Familiar applications include the lead screws of lathes, and the screws for vises, presses, and jacks.
The Joyce worm-gear screw jack Portion of a Power Screw
The system is in equilibrium under the action of these forces, and hence, for raising the load, we have
By eliminating the normal force N and introducing the relation tan λ = l / πdm , we then have, respectively,
The above equations have been developed for square threads where the normal thread loads are
parallel to the axis of the screw.
In the case of Acme or other threads, the normal thread load is inclined to the axis because of the
thread angle (2α) and the lead angle (λ). Since lead angles are small, this inclination can be neglected
and only the effect of the thread angle (Fig. 8–7a) considered.
The effect of the angle α is to increase the frictional force by the wedging action of the threads.
Therefore the frictional terms in Eq. (8–1) must be divided by cos α. For raising the load, or for
tightening a screw or bolt, this yields
Stress Analysis
Nominal Body Stresses
A. The maximum nominal shear stress (τ) in torsion of the screw body can be expressed as
B. The axial stress (σ) in the body of the screw due to load F is (in the absence of column action)
For a short column the J. B. Johnson buckling formula is
Nominal Thread Stresses
A. The bearing stress (σB) is
where nt is the number of engaged threads.
B. The bending stress at the root of the thread (σb) is found from
where
C. The transverse shear stress (τ) at the center of the root of the thread due to load (F) is
and at the top of the root it is zero.
The von Mises stress (σ') at the top of the root “plane” is found by first identifying the orthogonal
normal stresses and the shear stresses.
A power screw lifting a load is in compression and its thread pitch is shortened by elastic deformation.
Its engaging nut is in tension and its thread pitch is lengthened.
The engaged threads cannot share the load equally. Some experiments show that the first engaged thread
carries 0.38 of the load, the second 0.25, the third 0.18, and the seventh is free of load.
In estimating thread stresses by the equations above, substituting 0.38F for F and setting nt to 1 will give
the largest level of stresses in the thread-nut combination.
Example-1
A square-thread power screw has a major diameter of 32 mm and a pitch of 4 mm with double threads, and
it is to be used to raise a load. The given data include f = fc = 0.08, dc = 40 mm, and F = 6.4 kN per screw.
(a) Find the thread depth, thread width, pitch diameter, minor diameter, and lead.
(b) Find the torque required to raise and lower the load.
(c) Find the efficiency during lifting the load.
(d) Find the body stresses, torsional and compressive.
(e) Find the bearing stress.
( f ) Find the thread bending stress at the root of the thread.
(g) Determine the von Mises stress at the root of the thread.
(h) Determine the maximum shear stress at the root of the thread.
