Tuesday, December 4, 2007 - 9:00 AM

Evaluation of Fastener Treatments for US Marine Corps Ground Vehicles

Leonardo Caseres and Darrell S. Dunn, Southwest Research Institute

Treatments for threaded fasteners are regularly used on USMC ground vehicles to prevent seizing as a result of corrosion. Environmental factors such as humidity and the presence of salt spray in addition to material selection, including dissimilar metal contact and the use of coatings, can influence corrosion and seizing of threaded fasteners. Performance of treatment products, designed to reduce fastener corrosion, were evaluated by measuring the weight gain and the torque, required to remove the fastener from aluminum and steel panels, as a function of time in an environmental test chamber. The accelerated atmospheric exposure consisted of a humidity exposure, a salt spray application with a solution containing sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and sodium bicarbonate, and a high temperature drying cycle. At selected exposure times, the fastener assemblies were removed from the environmental chamber and dissembled. The threads of the bolts and the base metal panels were inspected for damage such as thread galling and corrosion. Control samples, without fastener treatments, were also tested to provide a basis for comparison of the thread treatment products. Tests revealed that steel fasteners in steel panels were most prone to seizing compared to steel fasteners in aluminum panels. Both the petroleum-based anti‑seize and the polytetrafluoroethylene-based thread treatments effectively prevented seizure and thread damage. Additional anti-seize alternatives are being tested and preliminary results are reported here as well.