What Was Bolt Originally Used For And Why Is Bolt Tensioning Important For the Offshore Industry?

What were the bolts originally used for?

The history of bolts can be broken down into two parts. First, the threads date back to around 400 BC. They were made from wood. Most of the bolts are used on items such as a spiral for lifting water and pressing grapes to make wine.

In the 15th century, Johann Gutenberg used screws in the fastenings on his printing presses. The tendency to use screws gained momentum with their use being extended to items such as clocks and armor. According to Graves, Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks from the late 15th and early 16th centuries include several designs for screw-cutting machines.

In 1841, Joseph Whitworth suggested standardizing the size of the screw threads in Britain so that all the nuts and bolts can fit globally. His proposal was that the angle of the thread flanks to be standardized at 55 degrees. At the same time, the number of threads per inch should be defined for various diameters.

Why is Bolt Tension Important to Offshore Industry?

Using a bolt tightening sequence is to reduce the loss of pre-load in the bolt. If the pre-load is lost, the bolt will relax. This could potentially lead to detrimental failure. The loss of preload can result from differences in thermal expansions between the bolt and the joint, along with other mechanisms.

Tension is a controlled way of tightening the bolt on applications within critical industries such as oil and gas, wind energy, construction and nuclear, etc. During bolt tensioning, the bolt is preloaded and stretched during the process. Once this has been completed correctly, with the nut tightened and the tensioner load removed, the bolt will automatically want to return to its original length. It is this spring-like action that creates tension and results in a clamping force across the bolted application.

Our team offered our bolt tightening services to our offshore client last week. By tensioning the bolts, we ensure that they enhance safety and ensure leak-free joints. Controlled bolting with tensioners reduces shutdown intervals. In this way, it improves the efficiency and productivity of the offshore asset.