Effectiveness of epoxy staking of fasteners in aerospace applications

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of locking or staking of fasteners with epoxy material systems to prevent loss ofrnpreload in aerospace environments.rnDesign/methodology/approach - A quantitative experimental method is adopted to evaluate epoxy material systems for staking of fastenerrnassemblies subjected to varying dynamic and thermal loads. A statistical design of experiments is employed to probe specific design parameters.rnFindings - Results show that epoxy application can provide satisfactory fastener locking under a variety of service conditions. It is found that: Eponrn828 epoxy provides superior fastener locking compared to 3M Scotch-Weld Epoxy 2216; epoxy application around screw threads is more effective thanrnapplication around screw head; and abrading the plate surfaces with 180 grit SiC paper is not an effective or useful surface preparation technique.rnResearch limitations/implications - The paper is limited to two commercial epoxy material systems and does not consider important qualitativernconsiderations for industrial use such as cure time and viscosity.rnPractical implications - This and future paper may form the basis of new standards for epoxy staking in the global aerospace industry.rnOriginality/value - This paper is believed to be one of the very few original experimental studies of fastener staking available in the open literature.