Naval & Marine Fasteners

High strength fasteners to combat the salt water corrosion

While thousands of cargo ships move raw materials and goods throughout the world, naval vessels operate day and night to protect and serve. Both operate in the corrosive environment of salt water. In addition to corrosion protection, many marine projects also require fasteners of superior strength functionality.

Corrosion Focus
Though the oceans are not full of harsh acids, salt water can be just as corrosive causing pitting and crevice corrosion, while debris and sands contribute to erosion corrosion. Ship builders are also faced with the challenge of galvanic corrosion when salts convey electric currents between dissimilar metals. Monel 400 and age hardened Monel K500 fasteners have long been the gold standard of salt water corrosion resistance. Though these are the most commonly used bolts for marine vessels and naval projects other materials also serve to protect from salt water corrosion.

• Monel 400 bolts offers excellent resistance, while Monel K500 similar resistance at 3 times the yield strength and twice tensile strength.
• AL6XN bolts were developed for marine conditions offering excellent seawater resistance.
• Duplex 2507 high resistance to pitting, erosion and crevice corrosion, as well as stress corrosion cracking in salt water.
• Titanium Grade 2 & 5 (6AL-4V) offers excellent resistance to salt water and essentially immune to corrosion.

High Strength Focus
Military vessels and marine structures require some of the strongest and most reliable materials to maintain their strength and safety. Often specialty materials are needed service high strength in a salt water environment:

• Titanium Grade 5 bolts offer superior strength-to-weight ratio, plus excellent resistance (140 KSI UTS).
• Duplex 2507 delivers 125 KSI UTS, plus excellent chloride protection.
• MP35N is the highest strength material we offer with an ultimate tensile strength of over 225 – 290 KSI. It offers excellent resistance to seawater.

Fasteners for Power Generation

Specialty material fasteners make coal, gas, wind and solar energy possible

From wind and solar to coal and nuclear, specialty material fasteners are needed to generate electricity for the world. While there are so many issues that face the power generation industry, strength, high temperature and corrosion are the most common.

Corrosion Focus
Whether generated by fossil fuels or renewable energy, power companies are constantly fighting corrosion.

Coal and Flue Gas Desulfurization

• Alloy 20 bolts are a go-to bolt with their ability to resist 20-40% concentration sulfuric acid
• Hastelloy C276 fasteners are commonly used for their superior resistance to sulfuric acid
• Incoloy 825’s resistance to phosphoric and sulfuric acid and sulfur-containing flue gases make it key to pollution control

Solar Panel Production

• Hastelloy bolts are used to combat hydrochloric and sulfuric acid used in semiconductor production
• Monel fasteners are key to preventing hydrofluoric acid corrosion used in manufacturing
• Incoloy bolts protect fromhighly oxidizing nitric acid also used in solar panel production

Off-Shore and Coastal Wind Farms

• Monel K500 bolts provide off-shore wind farms protection from salt water as well as 110ksi UTS
• Titanium Grade 5 is also a common choice for a combination of saltwater protection and high strength
• Duplex 2205 and Super Duplex 2507 offer twice the yield strength of stainless steel as well as saltwater protection
• Inconel 718 and 686 for the the highest strength and salt water corrosion resistance for offshore wind projects

High Temperature Focus
Conventional power generation requires steam or hot combustion gas driven turbines. Gas flowing through turbines a typical power plant turbine can be as hot as 2300 degrees F, with cooling mechanisms only lowing the temperatures to 1500-1700F. To deal with this type of heat specialty materials are put to work.

• Incoloy 800 bolts are commonly used for steam generators, especially 800H and 800HT which are normally used in temperatures above 1500°F
• Inconel 600 and 625 fasteners are key in gas turbine engines because of their usability to 2000°F
• Ceramic screws like Alumina (2000°F) and Zirconia (3000°F) are also used in combustion chambers and other high temperature parts
• A286 bolts are used in high temperature exhaust streams

High Strength Focus

• Inconel 718 bolts deliver high temperature strength to nuclear pressurized water reactors
• 17-4PH fasteners offer a yield strength over 4x greater the 316 stainless steel 

Fasteners for the Pulp & Paper Industry

Corrosive bleaching processes require strong, chloride resistant fasteners

The pulp and paper industry uses thousands of gallons of bleach a day to produce the vivid white paper that offices and schools depend on. Chlorine, chlorine oxide or chlor alkali; no matter its form, bleach and the various forms of chlorinated compounds are corrosive.

Corrosion Focus
From digesters and evaporators, to boilers and storage takes, components in the pulp & paper industry are exposed to chloride corrosion. To combat corrosion from bleach, similar materials are used compared with salt water and marine corrosion.

• AL6XN bolts were developed for marine use, but perform well in pulp & paper for their chloride resistance
• Titanium Grade 2 fasteners are highly effective in this environment for their resistance to chlorides, chlorines, and chlorine chemicals.
• Duplex 2507 offers high resistance to pitting, erosion and crevice corrosion, as well as stress corrosion cracking in chlorides

Fasteners Pharmaceutical and Bio-Processing

Specialty fasteners deliver unique combination of corrosion resistance and ultra high purity

Similar in many ways to the chemical processing industry, the pharmaceutical and bio-processing industry is also faced with a host of additional material challenges including the ability to withstand tough cleaning cycles and maintain high levels of purity that are necessary to guarantee product integrity. Specialty metals and engineered polymers screws must be able to operate in any combination of highly corrosive environments and elevated temperatures, while also maintaining an ultra-pure, contamination-free environment.

Corrosion Focus
Traditionally, 316L stainless was the workhorse of the pharmaceutical and bio-processing industry, but today nickel alloys like Hastelloy and extreme materials like tantalum are increasingly common. These super materials provide enhanced corrosion resistance to the high temperature, chloride environments that are further induced with acidic and alkali solutions.

• Hastelloy screws and bolts provide their renowned resistance to harsh acids and alkalis as well as virtual immunity to chlorides.
• Tantalum bolts provide the ultimate resistance to the most severe acids including hydrochloric and sulfuric at high temperatures.
• Super Duplex steels provide an economic solution for resistance to chloride production environments or cleaning regimes when 316 isn’t holding up.
• PVDF screws can withstand corrosion from harsh chemicals in low temperature settings.
• PTFE screws offer usability to 500F and are inert to most organics, acids, and bases, including hyrdofluoric acid.

High Purity Focus
To produce the drugs we depend on, the pharmaceutical developers and manufacturers must operate in ultra-high purity environments in order to provide guaranteed protection from any kind of product contamination. These materials must not only do their mechanical job, but also not leach into any sensitive pharmaceutical products. Commonly fluorpolymers such as PFA and PTFE are used for their bio and chemical inertness.

• PTFE screws provide ultra purity with approval by FDA, USDA, NSF and USP Class IV.
• PEEK screws offer low out gassing and particle generation, as well as purity with medical grades available.
• Tantalum is the ultimate metal in terms of inertness and will not react in most chemical or biological environments.