Information Notice No. 86-25, Supplement 1: Traceability and Material Control of Material and Equipment, Particularly Fasteners
SSINS No: 6835
IN 86-25, Supplement 1
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
WASHINGTON, DC 20555
October 15, 1986
Information Notice No. NO 86-25, SUPPLEMENT 1: TRACEABILITY AND MATERIAL
CONTROL OF MATERIAL AND
EQUIPMENT, PARTICULARLY
FASTENERS
Addressees:
All nuclear reactor facilities holding an operating license or construction
permit
Purpose:
This notice is to supplement IN 86-25 with information provided by the
Industrial Fastener Institute (IFI) concerning an example of improperly
marked fasteners It is expected that the recipients will review the
information for applicability to their facilities and consider actions, if
appropriate, to preclude similar problems from occurring at their
facilities However, suggestions contained in this notice do not constitute
NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is
required
Discussion:
The IFI issued a news release on May 2, 1986 expressing its concerns about
intentionally mismarked SAE J429K grade 8 bolts According to IFI, these
falsely marked bolts (grade 82 for grade 8) could undergo stress relaxation
when subjected to temperatures above 500F, and such relaxation could
result in equipment failure and injury
The IFI news release states that 75% of the foreign imported bolts (mainly
from the Far East) have incorrect "headmarkings," indicating that they are
SAE J429K grade 8 rather than grade 82 Grade 8 is a fine grain, medium
carbon alloy steel (quenched and tempered), and grade 82 is a low carbon
quenched and tempered martensite steel The mechanical properties of both
grades are essentially identical For both grades, the tensile and yield
strengths are 150 ksi and 120 ksi, respectively However, the two grades of
bolts are heat treated differently Grade 8 bolts are quenched in oil and
tempered at 800F while grade 82 bolts are quenched in water or oil and
tempered at 650F Consequently, using an 82-grade bolt in lieu of an
8-grade bolt at temperatures near 650F could result in stress
relaxation of the grade 82 bolt resulting from a change in the original
tempered microstructure Although SAE grade 8 and 82 bolts are not commonly
used for high temperature safety-related applications in nuclear power
plants, this situation provides an example of the type of problem which can
result from anything less than a rigorous approach to the
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IN 86-25, Supplement 1
October 15, 1986
Page 2 of 2
procurement of any safety-related component Substitutions of this type
could be detected by an effective receipt inspection program if the receipt
inspections went beyond visual inspection requirements and included, on a
sample basis, chemical analyses, nondestructive testing such as eddy current
or conductivity testing, or destructive testing such as metallographic
analyses
No specific action or written response to this notice is required If you
have any questions regarding this matter, contact the Regional Administrator
of the appropriate regional office or this office
Edward L Jordan Director
Division of Emergency Preparedness
and Engineering Response
Office of Inspection and Enforcement
Technical Contact: J C Harper, IE
(301) 492-7568
Attachment: List of Recently Issued IE Information Notices
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