The Effect of Thread Depth on the Fatigue Strength of AISI 4140 Bolt Material as a Retainer and Fastener for a Screw Conveyor

Alvi Hidayat (Magister Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Riau, Pekanbaru, 28293, Indonesia)
M Dalil (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Riau, Pekanbaru, 28293, Indonesia)
Dodi Sofyan Arief (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Riau, Pekanbaru, 28293, Indonesia)

Journal of Ocean, Mechanical and Aerospace -science and engineering- (JOMAse)
Vol 70 No 1 (2026): Journal of Ocean, Mechanical and Aerospace -science and engineering- (JOMAse)

The bolts used to retainer and fasten the shaft of the screw conveyor, which functions to transport wood chips to the cooking process in paper manufacturing, have experienced failure. The failure occurred in the form of a perpendicular fracture on the threaded section of the bolt. This damage significantly disrupts wood processing operations, making it important to investigate the causes. The causes of bolt fracture and its short service life were analyzed by studying the effect of thread pitch variations of 2.5 mm and 2 mm. The material tested was Valmet (VME), which is equivalent to AISI 4140. The fatigue test was conducted using a cantilever rotating bending method with the test specimens according to ASTM E466M standards. The results showed that to achieve infinite life, the stress level must be below 95 MPa. Thread pitch has a significant effect: VME bolts with a thread pitch of 2 mm showed a 17% longer endurance than bolts pitch of 2.5 mm.