Effect of Coating Thickness on the

Friction Coefficients and

Sayed A. Nassar
Fellow ASME
Amro M. Zaki
Fastening and Joining Research Institute,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Oakland University,
Rochester, MI 48309
Torque-Tension Relationship in
Threaded Fasteners
This paper experimentally investigates the effect of coating thickness on the thread,
bearing friction coefficients, and torque-tension relationship in threaded fasteners, as
well as an investigation into the effect of coating thickness on surface roughness prop-
erties. The torque-tension relationship is highly sensitive to frictional changes. Two dif-
ferent coating thicknesses are investigated using two bolt thread pitch; test data are
collected for a preselected level of bolt tension. The experimental setup collects real-time
data on the tightening torque, bolt tension, and the corresponding reaction torque. Test
data are used for calculating the thread and bearing friction coefficients, as well as the
overall torque-tension relationship for two different coating thicknesses. The study would
provide an insight into the variation in the torque-tension relationship, which is a key
factor that significantly affect the reliability and safety of bolted assemblies in many
mechanical and structural applications. 关DOI: 10.1115/1.3085941兴

Keywords: coating thickness, nut factor, thread friction, bearing friction

1 Introduction and Literature Survey
The relationship between the tightening torque T and the corre-
sponding bolt preload F has a large scatter that has the potential to
compromise the integrity and reliability of critical and safety re-
lated bolted joints. The large scatter is due to the fact that the
torque-tension relationship is highly sensitive to the variations in
the friction torque components between engaged threads and the
bearing surfaces under the turning bolt head. The tightening
torque is traditionally divided into three components, namely the
pitch torque component T p that creates the bolt preload and joint
clamp load, the thread friction torque component Tt, and the bear-
ing friction torque component Tb that overcomes the friction un-
der the head or nut. Typically, the latter two frictional torque com-
ponents consume about 90% of the input torque. Inaccuracies in
determining the friction torque components may result in either an
overestimation or an underestimation of the actual joint clamp
force created by a specific value of the tightening torque. The
former has the potential to cause failure due to the eventual fas-
tener loosening, joint separation, leakage, and rattle, while the
latter may lead to material failure due to overstressing, excessive
distortion, stress corrosion cracking, or fatigue.
The torque-tension relationship in Eq. 共1兲 is often investigated
through the examination of the value and the scatter in the nondi-
mensional nut factor K. The nut factor K is influenced by many
variables that include the thread and bearing friction coefficients,
thread and fastener geometries, contact areas and surface condi-
tions, materials, and contact pressure distribution 关1,2兴
T = KDF 共1兲
where T is the input tightening torque, D is the nominal bolt
diameter, and F is the bolt preload.
Most of the tabulated values for the nut factor do not take into
account many of these variables. The implied use of K = 0.2, as a
Contributed by the Tribology Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF
TRIBOLOGY. Manuscript received July 10, 2008; final manuscript received January 29,
2009; published online March 9, 2009. Assoc. Editor: Mitjan Kalin. Paper presented
at the 2008 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference 共PVP2008兲, Chicago, IL,
July 27–31, 2008.
rough guide as suggested by Juvinall 关3兴 for static applications, is
an oversimplification that may compromise the reliability of criti-
cal bolted assemblies. Each bolted assembly is unique in its fric-
tional and design characteristics; this requires the use of a more
accurate value of the nut factor in order to predict the torque-
tension correlation in a more reliable fashion. Performing torque-
tension testing would provide the most reliable estimate of the nut
factor K by testing enough samples and getting a statistical mean
value of K and the corresponding percent scatter for the desired
level of confidence.
A more detailed torque-tension relationship was developed by
Motosh 关4兴 as follows:
T = T p + Tt + Tb 共2a兲
where
p
Tp = F is the pitch torque component 共2b兲
2␲
␮ tr t
Tt = F is the thread friction torque component 共2c兲
cos ␤
Tb = ␮brbF is the bearing friction torque component
共2d兲
In Eqs. 共2a兲–共2d兲, T is the tightening torque, F is the fastener
tension, ␮t and ␮b are, respectively, the thread and bearing friction
coefficients, p is the thread pitch, rt and rb are the thread and
bearing friction radii, and ␤ is half of the thread profile angle.
A number of researchers have investigated the effect of friction
torque components on the torque-tension relationship and the nut
factor. Nassar et al. 关5–7兴 introduced the theoretical and experi-
mental techniques in order to investigate the thread and bearing
friction torque components in threaded fasteners. They developed
new formulas to accurately calculate the effective bearing and
thread friction radii, rb and rt, respectively. The effective thread
friction radius was found to be approximately close to the mean
value of the major and minor thread radii.

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 features of the materials. Their model gave the friction coefficient
as a function of the coating thickness. The main assumption was
that the frictional work was set to be equal to the work of plastic
deformation during the steady state sliding. The friction coeffi-
cient ␮ as a function of the coating thickness was expressed as

再冋 冉 冊
follows:

␮共t兲 =
共NA兲L L
␶
L max
F
␶sL
␶max
L − exp共− aLt兲F L
␶IL
␶max
冉 冊册
+ ␶max exp共− aLt兲F 冉 冊冎
␶I
␶max
共4兲

where ␮共t兲 is the coefficient of friction as a function of the coating

Fig. 1 Linearly decreasing underhead contact pressure model
For the linearly decreasing underhead pressure distribution
model shown in Fig. 1, Nassar et al. 关7兴 gave the effective bearing
radius rb as follows:
thickness t, 共NA兲L is the real contact area, L is the applied normal
load, ␶Lmax is the saturation stress for layer case, ␶sL is the average
surface stress for layer case, aL is a constant, which can be deter-
mined by fitting an exponential curve to the appropriate measured
profile. F共u兲 is a monotonic function defined for 0 ⱕ u ⱕ 1 as fol-
lows:
ln共1 + u兲 − u

冉 冊冉 冊
F共u兲 = 1 – 2 共5兲
␥2 + 2␥ + 3 ␥+1 ln共1 − u2兲
rb = 2 D 共3兲
␥ + 3␥ + 2 4 where u is short for the shear stress ratios in Eq. 共4兲. The function
where ␥ is the maximum-to-minimum underhead contact radius F共u兲 in Eq. 共5兲 has the limits F共0兲 = 0 and F共1兲 = 1.
ratio. The expressions ␶I and ␶IL are retained as independent variables
Different types of coatings have different friction properties, that will ensure the stress continuity across the boundary 共i.e., ␶I
which affect the resulting torque-tension relationship. Nassar et al. must be equal to ␶IL at the boundary兲. The boundary stress ␶I is

再 冋 冎
关8兴 studied the torque-tension correlation for various coatings with then determined as follows:

冉 冊册
different frictional properties, using various tightening speeds. 2 exp共−aL兲 1/2
They observed that increasing the tightening speed for medium ␶sL
␶I = ␶max
L
1− 1− 共6兲
friction coating 共zinc/aluminum coating also known as Magni ␶max
L

565兲 increased the nut factor K as opposed to high friction coat-

where ␶max is the maximum shear stress in the bulk material.
ing. That was explained in light of the fact that the kinetic friction
In this study, the effect of coating thickness on the friction
coefficient was reduced by increasing the sliding speed. Fine
coefficients and torque-tension relationship in threaded fasteners
threads caused a slight increase in the nut factor for all types of
is investigated. The effect of coating thickness on the surface
coatings studied, which means that the same torque value would
roughness of the bolt underhead, before and after tightening/
produce a slightly less fastener tension. Nassar et al. 关5–7兴 did not
loosening, is also investigated. The study would provide an insight
investigate the effect of coating thickness, however.
into the variation in the torque-tension relationship with the coat-
Fastener coating changes the friction characteristics between
ing thickness, which is a key factor that can significantly affect the
the engaged threads and between the rotating bolt head/nut and
reliability and safety of coated bolted assemblies in many me-
the joint surface during the initial tightening of the fastener. The
chanical and structural systems.
application of a thin layer of a suitable coating material can re-
duce friction. An energy-based friction model was used by Heil-
mamn and Ringney 关9兴 in order to develop expressions for the 2 Experimental Setup and Test Procedure
friction coefficient for coated surfaces. The friction coefficient Figure 2 shows the test apparatus used for studying the effect of
was dependent on the properties, as well as the microstructural coating thickness on thread and bearing friction coefficients and

Fig. 2 Fastener testing system „Courtesy of RS Technologies Ltd.…

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Fig. 3 Schematic of torque-tension head
on the torque-tension relationship. The apparatus is programed to
tighten the fastener/nut combination to a predetermined bolt pre-
load 共N兲 that is indicated by a load cell. However, real-time data
on the tightening torque T and the reaction torque Ttp are also
collected. The tightening torque T is measured using a rotary
torque transducer. The schematic of the torque-tension apparatus
is shown in Fig. 3. The system has a dc electric motor that applies
the input torque to the bolt head. Although the bolt preload is used
to control the tightening process in this study, the system is ca-
pable of controlling the tightening of the bolt according to various
control options that include torque-only, torque-turn. Utilizing the
measured reaction torque Ttp, which is the sum of the thread
torque Tt and pitch torque T p components, the corresponding co-
efficient of thread friction ␮t and the coefficient of bearing friction
␮b are calculated from Eqs. 共2a兲–共2d兲 as follows:
冉 冊
Ttp p cos ␤
␮t = − 共7兲
F 2␲ rt
共T − Ttp兲
␮b = 共8兲
r bF
Equations 共7兲 and 共8兲 are part of the DIN 946 standard for fastener
testing.
Fasteners used in this study are Class 10.9 plain hardened steel
M12 fasteners and matching nuts with fine and coarse threads.
Washers are zinc-coated steel washers. All bolts and nuts were
especially coated using a zinc/aluminum coating composition that
is commercially known as Magni 565. The thin coating designa-
tion is arbitrarily assigned to the 14– 16 ␮m coating thickness
consisting of one base layer and one topcoat, which is commonly
used in many automotive applications. Thick coating designation
is arbitrarily assigned to the 20– 24 ␮m coating thickness that has
two base layers and one topcoat. Because a thick coating is nor-
mally used for providing more corrosion resistance, the coating
supplier recommended the use of two base layers plus one top-
coat. For both thickness designations, the base layer of the coating
is an inorganic zinc-rich basecoat, which provides the coating ad-
hesion to the substrate. The top layer is an aluminum-rich organic
topcoat that is formulated from zinc and aluminum flakes. Proper
Table 1 Preselected values of the bolt tension for fasteners used in the study
Proof stress
Bolt/grade ␴ P 共MPa兲
M12⫻ 1.25 Grade 10.9 830
M12⫻ 1.75 Grade 10.9 830
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Table 2 Hardness measurements for the bolts, nuts, and
washers used in the study
Bolt/nut hardness Washer hardness
RHC RHC
Median 33.15 50.35
Mean 33.55 50.0
1␴ scatter 5.41% 4.21%
drying and curing would allow the dense coating to be formed
with its flakes lying parallel to the substrate surface, which im-
proves its frictional characteristics.
Coating was pre-applied to the plain fasteners and nuts at the
facility of an automotive coating supplier. A dip/spin coating pro-
cess was used to apply the coating to the test bolts and nuts.
Multiple layers of coating were applied until the desired coating
thickness was reached. The coating thickness is measured using
eddy current. Zinc-coated washers were used to reduce the effect
of the fastener underhead friction; zinc-coated surfaces usually
have consistent friction coefficient that does not vary significantly
with the clamp load 关10兴.
Magni 565 coating is chosen for the study because it has a
medium friction that helps in making the coating thickness the
main source for friction variation. The coating is applied using a
dip/spin operation, where the test specimens are placed in baskets
that are immersed in a zinc flake liquid material. After wetting the
work, baskets are drained and spun at a high speed to remove
excess liquid. It is an economic method for processing small parts
such as fasteners; it has a high deposition rate of more than 98%
as well as the possibility of repeated coating application until the
desired coating thickness has been achieved.
In this study, the tightening process is controlled by the
achievement of a preselected fastener preload F. The chosen tar-
get preload Fpeak is equal to 80% of the proof load Fproof of M12
Class 10.9 bolts. Proof stress data and target fastener tension are
shown in Table 1.
Ultrasonic cleaning is performed on all parts prior to testing.
All test bolts, nuts, and washers were ultrasonically cleaned prior
to testing. The cleaning procedure involved placing the test speci-
mens into a wire mesh basket and rinsing it under water, after
which the basket is placed into an ultrasonic cleaning unit that is
filled with acetone as the cleaning solution. Cleaning continued
for 5 min before the parts were removed and allowed to dry at
room temperature.
3 Experimental Results and Discussion
In this section, test data are reported and analyzed in order to
investigate the effect of coating thickness on thread and bearing
friction coefficients. M12 coated steel bolts with two thread
pitches are used in this study, namely, M12⫻ 1.25 and M12
⫻ 1.75 Class 10.9 bolts. Nuts are coated hardened steel Class
10.9; washers are zinc-coated steel. Rockwell hardness was mea-
sured for the bolts, nuts and washers using five test samples; the
average results are shown in Table 2.
Figures 4 and 5 show the test data on torque-tension-reaction
torque for M12⫻ 1.25 bolt/ nut combinations, while the test data
for M12⫻ 1.75 bolts are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Figures 8–16
Tensile area Proof load Target tension
AT 共mm2兲 F P 共N兲 F 共N兲
92.1 76,443 61,154
84.3 69,969 55,975
APRIL 2009, Vol. 131 / 021301-3
 Fig. 4 Real-time test data for M12Ã 1.25 bolts with thin coating

Fig. 5 Real-time test data for M12Ã 1.25 bolts with thick coating

Fig. 6 Real-time test data for M12Ã 1.75 bolts with thin coating

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 Fig. 7 Real-time test data for M12Ã 1.75 bolts with thick coating

Table 3 Tabulated results and scatter for M12Ã 1.25 bolt/ nut Table 4 Tabulated results and scatter for M12Ã 1.75 bolt/ nut
combinations combinations

Bolt Nut factor Thread friction Bearing friction Bolt Nut factor Thread friction Bearing friction
coating K coefficient ␮t coefficient ␮b coating K coefficient ␮t coefficient ␮b

M12⫻ 1.25 thin coating 0.146 0.124 0.101 M12⫻ 1.75 thin coating 0.134 0.106 0.095
1␴ scatter 1.2% 6.5% 5.5% 1␴ scatter 1.8% 2.4% 4.8%
M12⫻ 1.25 thick coating 0.137 0.104 0.099 M12⫻ 1.75 thick coating 0.131 0.099 0.092
1␴ scatter 4% 13% 1.5% 1␴ scatter 7.2% 6.5% 5%

show all the corresponding calculated friction coefficients and nut

factor by using Eqs. 共7兲, 共8兲, and 共1兲, respectively. In order to
avoid measurement error, data are used in the preload range de-
fined by 10kN ⱕ F ⱕ Fpeak. The tabulated results for the M12
⫻ 1.25 and M12⫻ 1.75 bolt/ nut combinations are shown in
Tables 3 and 4, respectively.
3.1 Effect of Coating Thickness on Thread Friction Coef-
ficient ␮t. Figure 8 shows the effect of coating thickness on the
thread friction torque component Tt and the coefficient of thread
friction ␮t for the M12⫻ 1.25 bolt/ nut combinations. The coeffi-
cient of thread friction decreased from 0.124 to 0.104 共18% re-
duction兲 when the coating thickness was increased from
16.44 ␮m to 22.55 ␮m. This can be explained in light of the fact
that when the coating is thin, the friction is mainly caused by the
interlocking of asperities: however, when the coating is thick
enough, it can reduce the adhesion between the surfaces and
hence reduce friction.
Figures 9 and 10 show the effect of coating thickness on thread

Fig. 8 Thread friction data of thin versus thick coatings for M12
à 1.25 bolt/ nut

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 Fig. 9 Thread friction data of thin versus thick coatings for M12
à 1.75 bolt/ nut

Fig. 10 The effect of coating thickness on the thread friction coefficient ␮t for fine and
coarse M12 bolts

friction coefficient for the M12⫻ 1.75 coarse thread bolt/nut com-
binations. The thread friction coefficient for fine threads is higher
than that for coarse threads, which is attributed to the larger num-
ber of engaged fine threads within the nut. The friction coefficient
is decreased by increasing the coating thickness for both fine and
coarse threads. The coefficient of thread friction in coarse threads
was decreased from 0.106 to 0.099 共7% reduction兲 when the coat-
ing thickness was increased from 16.44 ␮m to 22.55 ␮m. The
1␴ scatter values in the thread friction coefficient ␮t are, respec-
tively, equal to 13% and 7% for the thick and thin coatings on fine
threads 共M12⫻ 1.25兲. Thick coating scatter is almost double that
of thin coating. A similar scatter trend is found in the coarse
threads 共M12⫻ 1.75兲; namely, the 1␴ scatter values are, respec-
tively, equal to 7% and 3% for thick and thin coatings, which is
about one-half of the scatter in ␮t of the fine threads.
Figure 10 compares the effect of coating thickness on the thread
friction coefficient for fine threads to that of coarse threads. In-
creasing the coating thickness has a more significant effect on fine
threads, due to the increased coating buildup, which reduces the
thread clearance by a larger percent as compared to coarse
threads.
3.2 Effect of Coating Thickness on Underhead Bearing
Friction Coefficient ␮b. Figures 11 and 12 show the effect of
coating thickness on the bearing friction torque component Tb and
the coefficient of bearing friction ␮b for the M12⫻ 1.25 and
M12⫻ 1.75 bolt/ nut combinations, respectively. For fine M12
⫻ 1.25 bolts/ nut combinations, the coefficient of bearing friction
decreased from 0.101 to 0.099 共2% reduction兲 when the coating
thickness was increased from 16.44 ␮m to 22.55 ␮m. A similar
trend was observed for the coarse threads 共M12⫻ 1.75兲; the coef-
ficient of bearing friction decreased from 0.095 to 0.092 共3% re-
duction兲 when the coating thickness was increased form
16.44 ␮m to 22.55 ␮m. The percent scatter in ␮b was almost the
same 共1␴ ⬇ 5%兲 for both thin and thick coatings. The test data are
summarized in Tables 2 and 3.

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 Fig. 11 Bearing friction data of thin versus thick coatings for M12
à 1.25 bolt/ nut

Fig. 12 Bearing friction data of thin versus thick coatings for M12
à 1.75 bolt/ nut

Fig. 13 The effect of coating thickness on the bearing friction coefficient ␮b for fine and
coarse M12 bolts

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 Figure 13 shows the mean values obtained for the coefficient of
bearing friction for M12⫻ 1.25 and M12⫻ 1.75 bolt/ nut combi-
nations. As can be seen, a similar trend with the same percent of
reduction in bearing friction coefficient 共3% reduction兲 is found in
both coarse and fine M12 bolt/nut combinations. The reduction in
the bearing friction coefficient is attributed to the same reason;
when the coating is thin, the friction is mainly caused by the
interlocking of asperities. However, when the coating is thick
enough, it can reduce the adhesion between the surfaces. The
effect of coating thickness on the underhead bearing friction is not
significant, as it is within the scatter in the experimental data.
However, it follows the same trend as that for the effect of coating
thickness on the coefficient of thread friction ␮t and nut factor K,
as it is outlined in Sec. 3.3.
3.3 Effect of Coating Thickness on the Nut Factor K. Fig-
ures 14 and 15 show the results obtained for the variation in the
nut factor K and the input torque component T for the M12
⫻ 1.25 and M12⫻ 1.75 bolt/ nut combinations, respectively. For
the fine threaded bolt/nut combinations, the nut factor decreased
from 0.146 to 0.137 共6% reduction兲 by increasing the coating
thickness from 16.44 ␮m to 22.55 ␮m. A similar trend is ob-
served for coarse threads; thick coating reduces the nut factor
from K = 0.134 to K = 0.131 共3% reduction兲. The 1␴ scatter in the
nut factor is higher for the thick coating on both fine and coarse
threads. 1␴ scatter values of 4% and 2% in K are, respectively,
obtained for thick and thin coatings on fine threads. The same
trend is observed in the coarse threads; the scatter values in the
nut factor K are, respectively, equal to 7% and 2% for thick and
thin coatings.
Figure 16 shows the mean results obtained for the nut factor for
both fine and coarse M12 bolt/nut combinations. As can be seen,
the nut factor for the M12⫻ 1.25 bolts is higher than that for the
M12⫻ 1.75 bolts. This can be explained in light of the fact that
the fine M12 bolts consumed a large percent of the input torque to
overcome the thread friction force compared with the coarse M12
bolts, which leads to an increase in the nut factor for the M12
⫻ 1.25 bolt/ nut combinations.
3.4 Effect of Coating Thickness on the Surface Roughness
of the Bolt Underhead. The properties of a solid surface are
crucial to surface interaction because they affect the real area of
contact, friction, and the wear pattern on the sliding surface during

Fig. 14 Nut factor K data of thin versus thick coatings for M12
à 1.25 bolt/ nut

Fig. 15 Nut factor K data of thin versus thick coatings for M12
à 1.75 bolt/ nut

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 Fig. 16 The effect of coating thickness on the nut factor K for fine and coarse M12 bolts

Fig. 17 Average surface roughness Ra measurement results for bolts before

tightening

the tightening of the threaded fasteners. The objective of this sec-
tion is to investigate the effect of coating thickness on the bolt
underhead surface roughness before tightening and after one
tightening/loosening cycle. The investigation involves taking
three-dimensional surface images using an optical surface profiler
WYKO NT1100, in a vertical scanning interferometry 共VSI兲
mode to measure the roughness characteristics of the bolt under-
head surface 关11兴.
The roughness Ra 共centerline average兲 is investigated for thin
and thick coatings. The surface roughness data are collected from
the five samples of new 共untightened兲 bolts. Six small areas are
measured on each of the five samples near the corners of the
hexagonal bolt head, as shown in Fig. 17. This procedure allows
for obtaining 30 roughness readings for each of the two coating
thicknesses. The average surface roughness Ra for the thick coat-
ing is 2.875 ␮m, which is less than that for the thin coating 共Ra
= 3.350 ␮m兲. This is due to the fact that the thick coating covers
some of the surface asperities, which lowers the mean arithmetic
height of the coated substrate.
Figure 18 shows the change in Ra that takes place after the
tightening and subsequent loosening of the bolt head have been
done. For thin coating, the average Ra is decreased from
3.350 ␮m to 3.083 ␮m 共8% reduction兲 by the tightening and
subsequent loosening of the bolt. For the thick coating, the corre-
sponding Ra is increased from 2.875 ␮m to 3.237 ␮m 共13% in-
crease兲. This may be explained in light of the fact that a thin
coated surface will have more exposed asperities above the coat-
ing layer, which are more likely to plastically deform during the
relative sliding between the underhead contact surfaces. As a re-
sult, Ra is decreased. For the thick coating, however, much of the
surface asperities are more likely to have been initially covered by
the thicker coating 共before the bolt has been tightened兲. After the
bolt has been tightened and subsequently loosened, it has been
observed that some of the coating has peeled off the substrate,
which exposes more of the original asperities of the substrate.
This has resulted in a higher surface roughness Ra.

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 Fig. 18 Coating thickness effect on the average arithmetic height Ra before and after
the tightening process

Fig. 19 Coating thickness effect on the skewness Rsk of the surface profile before
and after tightening/loosening

The corresponding skewness data 共Rsk兲 of the bolt underhead
surface are presented in Fig. 19 for both thin and thick coatings,
before and after the bolt tightening/loosening. The skewness Rsk
depends on whether the bulk of the material on the sample surface
is above 共negative skew兲 or below 共positive skew兲 the mean line
关12兴. The test data show that the skewness before tightening for
the thin coated surface is much higher than that for the thick
coated surface. This supports the argument presented in Sec. 3.3
of this study, which has concluded that thin coated surface has a
sharper profile with more asperities above the mean line than that
of a thick coated surface.
The total change in skewness due to the bolt tightening and
subsequent loosening is similar for both thick and thin coated
surfaces. This may be explained in light of the fact that the plastic
deformation that takes place is a function of the applied force
共joint clamp force兲 and the tightening speed, which were kept
constant. The skewness Rsk of the surface profile for the thin
coated surfaces has dropped from 0.265 to ⫺1.00 共137% reduc-
tion兲 by one tightening and loosening cycle of a bolt-and-nut com-
bination. This drop in Rsk suggests that, for the thin coated sur-
face, the energy went into plastically deforming the sharper
asperities. For the thick coated surface, the skewness Rsk is
changed from 0.100 to ⫺0.250, which suggests that the thick
coating is covering more asperities, which provide a larger contact
area with most of the bulk material above the mean line.
4 Conclusion
This study provides an experimental procedure and test setup
for investigating the effect of coating thickness on the bearing and
thread friction coefficients, surface roughness, and the torque-
tension relationship in threaded fastener applications. Data analy-
sis shows that the torque-tension relationship 共as represented by
the nut factor兲 is moderately affected by the changes in the coating

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 thickness. Additionally, the coefficients of thread and bearing fric-
tion are also affected by the coating thickness. Increasing the coat-
ing thickness decreases the nut factor, as well as the thread and the
underhead bearing friction coefficients. The study also shows that
thicker coating results in a decreased bolt underhead surface
roughness Ra after the loosening of a tightened bolt, as compared
to the initial roughness before the bolt has been tightened. The
opposite is true for thin coating; Ra is increased from its initial
value after the bolt has been tightened and subsequently loosened.
This finding is significant, since it impacts the torque specification
for the retightening of used bolts in many mechanical and struc-
tural components. As a result, the study has the potential for im-
proving the reliability and safety of bolted assemblies in many
mechanical and structural applications.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Mr. Brian
Lowry for his guidance and support in selecting the coating type
and thickness, providing the technical data on the coating, and for
applying the coating to all test specimens at his company Curtis
Metal Finish.
Nomenclature
AT ⫽ effective tensile area for the fastener 共mm2兲
F ⫽ clamp force/bolt preload 共N兲
Fproof ⫽ proof load of the fastener 共N兲
Fpeak ⫽ target bolt preload 共N兲
F共u兲 ⫽ monotonic function, defined for 0 ⱕ u ⱕ 1,
K ⫽ nut factor
L ⫽ normal applied load 共N兲
共NA兲L ⫽ real contact area 共mm2兲
p ⫽ thread pitch 共mm兲
Ra ⫽ average arithmetic height of surface profile
共␮m兲
Rsk ⫽ skewness of the surface profile
T ⫽ input tightening torque component 共N m兲
Tb ⫽ bearing friction torque component 共N m兲
T p ⫽ pitch torque component 共N m兲
Tt ⫽ thread friction torque component 共N m兲
Ttp ⫽ reaction torque 共N m兲
aL ⫽ constant from fitting of exponential curve
rb ⫽ effective bearing friction radius 共mm兲
Journal of Tribology
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rt ⫽
thread friction contact radius 共mm兲
t coating thickness 共␮m兲
⫽
␤ ⫽
half the thread profile angle 共deg兲
␥ ⫽
maximum-to-minimum contact radii ratio un-
der the turning bolt head
␴ p ⫽ proof stress of the fastener material 共MPa兲
␶max ⫽ maximum shear stress for bulk material
␶Lmax ⫽ saturation stress for layer case
␶sL ⫽ average surface stress for layer case
␶I, ␶IL ⫽ independent variables to provide stress conti-
nuity across the boundary
␮共t兲 ⫽ coefficient of friction as a function of the coat-
ing thickness t
␮b ⫽ coefficient of bearing friction
␮t ⫽ coefficient of thread friction
References
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APRIL 2009, Vol. 131 / 021301-11