QUESTION: What do I need to know to choose the right fasteners for

my valves?
ANSWER: Choosing the proper fastener alloy is one of the most important
considerations for reliable long-term operation of valves and other chemical
process equipment. The easy part is choosing a fastener with adequate
strength whereas selecting fasteners with the necessary corrosion
resistance is somewhat more difficult. Choosing fasteners for their general
corrosion resistance is certainly an obvious consideration, but it is
sometimes even more important to use and specify fastener materials that
will be resistant to the various forms of environmental stress corrosion
cracking (SCC). Therefore, in certain environments it may be necessary to
choose a bolt material that will experience some general corrosion but will
provide adequate resistance to stress corrosion cracking. The logic behind
this practice is that general corrosion is visually evident and with proper
preventative maintenance, general corrosion can be seen and fasteners
replaced as necessary. On the other hand, stress corrosion cracking is
rarely visually apparent and often occurs without warning. When it does,
then a serious valve failure is likely.
There are several forms of stress corrosion cracking that we need to be
aware of such as chloride SCC, hydrogen sulfide HSSC, caustic
embrittlement and liquid metal embrittlement. Because austenitic stainlesssteel fasteners like ASTM A193 grade B8 provide good general corrosion
resistance, they are commonly requested. However, one must exercise
care as to their use if there is reason to believe that chloride SCC may be
an issue. Chlorides as well as other halogens such as fluorides may be
present in many CPI plants, and they can be the catalyst for SCC of
austenitic stainless steels like 304 or 316. Chlorides are also present in the
environment of seacoast plants. Because marine environments are very
corrosive to carbon steels, many plants request stainless-steel fasteners
but this may lead to the potential for a serious failure due to chloride SCC.
Therefore, for marine environments or other chloride-containing services,
alloy steel fasteners are preferred. In order to reduce their susceptibility to
general corrosion, alloy steel fasteners like grade B7 are usually provided
with some type of protective coating such as zinc or cadmium plating.
Unfortunately, this can lead to another form of environmental stress
cracking known as liquid metal embrittlement (LME), or a related failure
mode, solid metal induced embrittlement (SMIE).
Zinc and cadmium plating are commonly used to provide galvanic
protection to carbon steel fasteners so they will have an acceptable general
corrosion rate. This is a useful practice for moderate temperatures but at
elevated temperatures either LME or SMIE may occur. LME is the brittle
failure of a normally ductile metal when in contact with a thin film of liquid
metal and stressed in tension. The source of the thin film of liquid metal is
the cadmium or zinc used for galvanic protection of steel from general
corrosion. Cadmium and zinc have relatively low melting points so when
plated fasteners are used near or above their melting point LME is
possible. SMIE is similar, but occurs below the melting point of the
embrittling metal. Prevention of LME and SMIE can be accomplished by
avoiding plated fasteners above certain maximum temperatures. According
to the available literature, this temperature is 370 F (188 C) for cadmium

and 489 F (254 C) for zinc-plated alloy steel. Due to other environmental
concerns, cadmium is not used much today but it is still available so you
need to be sure of what type of plated fasteners you are getting from your
supplier. I know of one case where zinc-plated fasteners were ordered but
the supplier substituted some cadmium-plated fasteners by mistake. Since
the service temperature was above 370 F (188 C), an LME/SMIE failure
resulted.
Another common concern about fastener selection is hydrogen sulfide
stress cracking, HSSC. Most metals are susceptible to stress cracking if
exposed to hydrogen sulfide, and fasteners that are high strength and
highly stressed are very susceptible to HSSC. Therefore, the NACE
specifications, MR0103 and ISO 15156, which deal with hydrogen sulfide
services, state that if fasteners are exposed to hydrogen sulfide they need
to be made of certain alloys. For MR0103 those are ASTM A193 grades
B7M or B8MA class 1A and A320 grade L7M. For ISO 15156 the
recommend fasteners are A193 grade B7M or A320 grade L7M.
Some other services that can cause SCC with certain fasteners are caustic
compounds and hydrofluoric acid. Fortunately, most atmospheric
environments do not contain the stress cracking agents discussed here but
if there is any chance of exposure, give careful consideration to the
selection of fasteners. Choosing the right fastener is rather complex so use
a fastener supplier that understands these issues or consult with a
corrosion engineer.

Thomas Spence is director of materials engineering for Flowserve Corp.

(www.flowserve.com), Dayton, OH. Reach him
attspence@flowserve.comtspence@flowserve.com.