The “—ilities” of Fastener Technology

This paper describes the application of some of the “ilities” to fasteners and fastened joints. The “ilities” discussed are producibility, reusability, maintainability, and reliability. The influence of hole preparation, hole finish, fastener surface coatings, thread lubricants, and fastener fits on joint fatigue life is discussed. Some data on titanium alloy riveted and bolted joint fatigue life is presented to show the effect of rivet hole filling and bolt close and interference fits.

The importance of having early dynamic joint test data during the design phase is emphasized, and a cost comparison of straight shank and taper shank fastener is shown.