JME394 Mechanical Design Laboratory

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MD 5. SCREW THREAD FRICTION

PLEASE BRING A 3 1/2" FLOPPY TO LAB
5.1. INTRODUCTION
Shigley and Mischke (1991) discuss the design of screws in Chapter 8. The goal of this lab is to
study the relation between turning torque and the axial force developed between a screw and nut
in a threaded fastener system. The lab includes a hands-on lab exercise to determine the
coefficient of friction between the thread and the nut and theoretical calculations of axial force
development based on the measured coefficient of friction.
5.2. FRICTION AT SCREW THREADS
Review sections 8.1, 8.2 and 8.8 in Shigley and Mischke (referred to as Shigley for the remainder
of this document). In Shigley, Figure 8.1 shows the screw thread terminology, and Figure 8.6
shows the force distribution between a threaded bolt and nut. The torque required to overcome
the friction force due to an axial force F loading the nut is (Shigley eqn. 8-5):
T=

Fd m l + d m sec

2 d m l sec

(5.1)

where l is the pitch and dm the pitch diameter, the coefficient of friction, and 2 is the thread
angle (2 = 60o for standard metric threads & 2 = 29o for acme threads).
Bolt dimensions (i.e. pitch, pitch diameter, etc.) can be found in Shigley Table 8-1 to 8-3.
5.3. PRE-LAB EXERCISE
Read Sections 8.1 and 8.2 of Shigley and then do the following exercise: A metric bolt M20 is
turned by a torque wrench. The torque is set at T = 60 N-m. If the axial force developed by the
bolt is P = 20 kN, compute the coefficient of friction between the nut and the bolt.
Hint: use equation 5.1 and information in Shigley Table 8-1.
5.4. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE, CALIBRATION, AND TESTING
The testing apparatus developed by Bergman, Mihulka, and Sodergren (1992) consists of a gear
motor connected to the test screw by a coupling. Weights are attached to a loading plate and nut
via a pulley system. The plate is prevented from rotation by a torque arm that slides on a knifeedge strip parallel to the screw. A strain gage mounted on the torque arm is used to determine the
torque required to prevent rotation. When the screw turns clockwise, the weights are lifted.
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Lifting the weights creates a force on the screw threads opposite to the direction of motion of the
loading plate. This is similar to lifting the load or tightening the screw as discussed in Shigley .,
section 8.2. The speed of rotation of the screw is measured by a hand-held tachometer.
5.4.1. Preliminary
Clean the surface of the screw with cleaner and dry it with a clean towel. Examine the screw and
take measurements to determine the type of threads, the major diameter and the pitch.
5.4.2. Data Acquisition
Turn on the computer and call up Qbasic software in Windows. The interface program is
MD5NEW.BAS. Click on File and load the program. Press F5 key or click Run and Start to
start acquisition. Two choices are available. The first, static, records 500 voltage values using the
data acquisition board (about two seconds of data) and reports the maximum value during that
time. The second, kinetic, records 500 voltage values and averages them. The kinetic program
also stores the raw data for each run, as well as a summary of data for all the runs. Before
running the kinetic program, insert your 3 1/2" floppy disk into the floppy drive.
5.4.3. Strain Gage Calibration
A strain gage is a device that measures the strain on the surface of an object by detecting small
changes in resistance as the strain gage and surface are stretched or compressed. In order to
measure the change in resistance, a strain gage is normally placed in a bridge configuration that
produces a very small voltage change (usually less than 10 mv). The voltage signal is then
amplified by an external amplifier. The amplifier usually has two adjustments: gain and zerooffset. If the gain is increased, a larger output voltage can be created from the small input
voltage. The zero offset is used to adjust the strain gage output voltage to zero when there is no
load on the strain gage (i.e. zero strain).
In order to use the strain gage to measure torque, the strain gage is attached near one end of a
torque arm that rides on the knife-edge. In order to determine the relation between strain gage
voltage and torque, it is first necessary to calibrate the strain gage system.
Make sure that the strain gage torque arm is not contacting the knife-edge, i.e. there is no load on
the torque arm. Run the static data acquisition program to record the average voltage for the
strain gage. This gives you a zero offset for the strain gage. With the help of your instructor,
adjust the zero offset and repeat this procedure until the reading is very close to zero (<0.01 V).
Exit the static program.
Measure the torque calibration arm and record its length as well well as its mass. Mount the
torque application arm on the loading plate. Now attach a 100gm weight to the other end of the
arm. Start the kinetic data acquisition program. Before obtaining your first readings, the program
requires a filename to store a summary of your data. Call this file calib or a similar name. After
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recording data, enter the speed (0 rpm) and mass (kg). You will need to enter another filename
where raw data will be stored, e.g. mass0. Repeat this procedure with weights of 200, 300, and
400 gm so that you obtain a maximum strain gage voltage of about 5 V. Exit the kinetic data
acquisition program. Remove the calibration arm when calibration data is complete.
Data Analysis: Using the weights, the length and mass of the calibration arm and the voltage
readings, plot applied torque as a function of strain gage voltage and perform a linear fit to
determine a calibration constant for the strain gage. Note that the applied torque should account
for the torque produced by the calibration arm as well as the weight hung at the end of the
calibration arm.
5.4.4. Static Coefficient of Friction
Place 1600 gm mass on the weight holder. Slowly turn the screw clockwise (as seen when
looking from the motor toward the pulleys). Start MD5NEW and use the static program to record
the strain gage voltage. Allow each lab group member to make at least one measurement. After
completing your measurements, exit the static program. Use your calibration equation to obtain
torque. Determine the axial force from the mass hung from the pulleys. The torque and axial
force allow you to calculate the static coefficient of friction between the bolt and nut using eqn.
(5.1).
5.4.5. Kinetic Coefficient
For safety, ALWAYS turn the motor speed control to zero before turning the motor power ON.
Note that the direction of the motor is controlled by a toggle switch on the baseplate close to the
motor controller. TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF THE MACHINE, turn the motor power ON and
slowly increase the speed to determine if the motor is turning in the desired direction (lifting the
weights). If not, reverse the toggle switch.
Restart the data acquisition program and select the kinetic option. Start the motor and increase
the motor speed to 30% of its maximum value. Obtain strain voltage measurements with the
1600 gm mass. Record the angular velocity using the tachometer. After each set of data is
acquired, enter the tachometer speed and axial mass (kg) in the data acquisition program.
Repeat the experiment for the kinetic coefficient of friction for three different motor speeds (30,
60, 90% of maximum) at the same mass, being sure to measure the speeds with the tachometer.
Repeat this procedure for three additional masses, up to 7200 gm.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE LAB: Make sure you measure all dimensions you will need to
calculate the strain gage calibration coefficient as as well as the coefficient of friction.
Data analysis: Using the data from the kinetic program and the strain gage calibration,
determine the torque for each axial load. Use equation 5.1 to determine the kinetic coefficient of
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friction for each test. Plot the coefficient of friction vs. the sliding velocity of the nut for the four
different loads. There will be three different velocities for each applied load. Examine the data
and determine whether the coefficient of friction depends upon the axial load or the angular
velocity.
Compute the mean value and the standard deviation of the kinetic coefficient of friction from the
different measurements.
5.5. DESIGN EXERCISE
Review the pre-lab exercise. Using the experimental range of kinetic coefficient of friction (the
experimental mean plus or minus one standard deviation), compute the axial load developed by
applying a tightening torque of 60 N-m. How does the kinetic coefficient of friction affect the
axial load developed? Discuss the implications of an uncertain coefficient of friction on fastener
design.
5.6. REPORT
Write a formal report that includes an abstract, table of contents, introduction, a description
of the experimental procedure, the results (plots of coefficient of friction versus sliding velocity
at different loads and table of values), and discussion of the experimental methods and results.
The report should also present the results of the pre-lab and design exercises and discuss the
results of the design exercise. Detailed calculations may be placed in an appendix. All figures
and pages should be numbered.
5.7. References
Shigley, J. E., and Mischke, C. R., Introduction to Mechanical Design, Fifth Edition, McGrawHill, Inc., New York, 1991, p325-381.
Bergman, Mihulka, and Sodergren, A Bolt Friction Tester, ME404B Report, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1992.

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