Case Study of Strength Calculation and the Possible Repair Options for Screw Thread Damages

Thread Strength and repair capability are critical to successful screw joints for any mechanical assembly. This paper explores the effect of the thread damage utilizing hand calculations, the margin of safety (MOS) for internal & external threads and compares with the required design criteria limit. Hence, the reduction in thread capability is analyzed in terms of shear and bearing strength of threads. This paper also emphasizes the Industry-standard repair techniques such as Helical inserts, Oversize inserts, and Twinserts with limitations and expected process/techniques. Advanced thread repairs in the market such as solid-body thread inserts (key-style, Time-sert, Big-sert) are also discussed Keywords: Thread damages, Shear strength, bearing strength. STI (Screw thread insert)

Influence of pedicle screw thread width and recovery time after surgery on fixation strength

Introduction: Pedicle screw fixation systems are widely used for treatment of various spinal pathologies, including spinal stenosis, scoliosis, spinal deformities and fractures. Stress shielding is considered to be a major factor contributing to insufficient fixation strength, leading to screw loosening. In this study, the influence of pedicle screw thread width on the displacement of pedicle screw and stress transfer is analyzed using 2-Dimensional axisymmetric finite element (FE) model. Methods: FE model consisting of cancellous and cortical bone, along with pedicle screw is developed for this study. The pedicle screw thread width is varied between 0.1 mm and 0.6 mm in steps of 0.1 mm, while the other geometric parameters, including screw half-angle, pitch, diameter, and length are kept constant. Three different contact conditions between screw and bone, such as frictionless, frictional, and bonded are considered to simulate hours, days, and months after surgery, respectively. The material properties and boundary conditions are applied based on previous studies. An axial force of 80 N is applied on the screw head to simulate axial pull-out test. Results: Similar patterns of stress distribution are observed for all screw models, with high stress concentration above the first thread. The highest displacement in screw is observed shortly after surgery, while the highest displacement in cancellous and cortical bone is observed few days and months after the surgery, respectively. The average von Mises stress in screw decreases with increase in thread width for all contact conditions. In few hours/days after the surgery, stress transfer parameter increases with increase in thread width, up to a thread width of 0.5 mm and then decreases. The changes in stress transfer parameter are negligible few months after the surgery. Conclusion: This study highlights the influence of thread width on displacement and stress transferred to the bone, at different durations after the surgery. It is observed that a thread width of 0.5 mm exhibits the highest stress transfer, leading to reduced stress shielding and improved bone remodeling. It appears that this study might aid in developing better pedicle screws for the treatment of various spinal pathologies.

Force distribution in self-tapping screws: experimental investigations with fibre Bragg grating measurement screws

The pull-out resistance of fully threaded, self-tapping screws under axial loading has been investigated intensively in the past. Actual design models are based mainly on empirical data because the detailed interaction between the screw thread and the surrounding timber member remains unclear and might depend on the test set-up. An innovative screw sensor with 19 internal fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) was developed to measure the forces along the screw axis. The screw diameter was 12 mm and the maximum embedding length was 360 mm. The FBG measurement screw was applied in pull-out tests under different support conditions. The results carried out show details of the axial forces along fully threaded screws depending on the magnitude of the screw axis to grain angle, the embedding length, the material and the support conditions. Load transfer between the screw and the surrounding timber was determined by means of the change of axial forces along the screw axis. A comparison of the experimental results with Volkersen’s theory points out the decisive dependency of the support conditions on the axial forces in fully threaded self-tapping screws. Additionally, the experimental test results show indications of shear and compressive stresses in the interface of the measurement screw.

Simulating the Effect of Friction on Drive Screw Using System-of-System Modeling with Predetermined Torque

In most mechanical systems, screw threads serve three main basic purposes: (i) to transmit power, (ii) to provide a clamping force, and finally (iii) to restrict or control motion. This chapter demonstrates the effects of friction and behavior which can occur in a bolted fastening (screw thread) for advanced design purposes. To model this behavior, other control components are attached to the bolted screw. The bolt preload is applied with a predetermined torque. For this case the preload depends on the friction under the head and in the thread. The friction prevents the loosing of the bolted fastening. This effect is termed as self-locking effect. We designed an algorithm that reproduces an exemplary simulation scenario, which determines friction and its effect on thread angle based on the strength of the coefficient of friction at a specific tension or clamp load value using the system-of-system approach. The result shows specific behavior on both the motion in threads and drive screw with predetermined torque. The chapter is limited to creating a simple simulation environment to demonstrate the effects.