What Are Aerospace Fasteners and Why Are They Critical to Flight Safety

In aviation, the ability to uphold safety and reliability during flight often hinges on the strength of every individual part, no matter how small they may be. Among the most essential components in any assembly are aerospace fasteners, serving to keep everything from fuselage panels to engines secure. Unlike conventional fasteners found in consumer-level equipment, aerospace-grade hardware is carefully engineered to withstand the extreme environments of flight and address more unique constraints.

To help operators and industry professionals in procuring suitable options for their applications, this blog will explore the fundamentals of aerospace fasteners. As such, read on as we highlight common types, explain how aerospace options differ from standard hardware, and discuss their role in ensuring safe flight operations.

What Are Aerospace Fasteners?

Fasteners are hardware devices that come in many shapes and sizes, all serving a similar role in mechanically joining or affixing components together. In aerospace applications specifically, these parts are designed and manufactured under the strictest standards to guarantee they can handle the rigorous demands of flight.

Unlike conventional fasteners found in consumer or industrial products, aerospace fasteners undergo extensive quality testing, often being certified to National Aerospace Standards (NAS) or Military Standards (MS). These specifications tend to ensure every bolt, rivet, or nut meets objectives for interchangeability and performs with consistent strength and durability.

What Are Common Types of Aerospace Fasteners?

A standard commercial aircraft will be assembled with millions of fasteners, each individual hardware component being chosen based on the loads and conditions it is expected to handle. Below, we will introduce you to some of the most widely used and recognized fasteners in aerospace options.

Bolts and Nuts

From engine mounts to structural frames, nut and bolt assemblies are commonplace. While bolts are externally threaded fasteners that can be installed with the use of screwdrivers and similar tools, nuts feather internal threading that can pair with bolts to secure parts in place when tightened to the tail-end of the fastener.

Generally speaking, these components are made from high-strength alloys like titanium or corrosion-resistant stainless steel to ensure their reliability throughout operations. Oftentimes, operators choose these components as they can offer reliable clamping force in critical areas, promoting structural stability.

Washers

Often coming in the form of thin discs that have a centralized hole, washers are commonly paired with bolts or other fasteners to distribute loads and protect installation surfaces. While not necessary for every bolted connection, washers can prevent stress concentrations that quickly lead to cracks or material fatigue, making them very popular in aerospace applications.

Screws

Screws may look similar to bolts with their externally threaded shafts, but they stand apart from such hardware with their ability to bore their own holes in materials when installed. They also do not need to be paired with nuts usually, being able to pull in materials for a secure installation.

Rivets

Rivets are permanent fasteners that are useful for joining aircraft skin panels, wings, and fuselage structures together. Such hardware is known for offering a strong, reliable joint that resists vibration and tampering, driving their popularity in various aerospace structures.

Why Aerospace Fasteners Are Critical to Flight Safety

Fasteners are the literal “glue” that holds an aircraft together, with their failure potentially leading to catastrophic consequences. As such, fasteners play a significant role in upholding the safety and performance of any aircraft or individual assembly.

Key Contributions to Safety

Structural Integrity: By properly selecting and installing fasteners, one can ensure wings, fuselage panels, engine mounts, avionics, and other critical assemblies remain secure in the face of intense stress.
Vibration Resistance: Aerospace fasteners are engineered to remain secure under constant vibration, reducing the risk of coming loose mid-flight.
Weight Management: The advanced alloys employed for manufacturing aerospace fasteners provide high strength while keeping weight to a minimum, directly impacting fuel efficiency and safety margins.
Maintenance Efficiency: Aerospace fasteners are regularly designed to offer very predictable performance, enabling easier inspection and replacement schedules for the benefit of airworthiness.
Failure Prevention: By preventing loosening, cracking, or fatigue under load, aerospace fasteners safeguard against various chain reactions that could compromise flight operations.

Important Tips for Selecting Aerospace Fasteners

Choosing the correct aerospace fastener for any particular application will come down to a number of important factors, many of which are unique to one’s particular situation or needs. As such, operators and engineers should carefully assess all requirements of their application, as well as the operating environment and load conditions that hardware will be exposed to.

Common Selection Considerations

Material Choice: Titanium is often the optimal option for its strength-to-weight benefits, though such substances come with a higher price tag than aluminum, which has comparable properties. Meanwhile, stainless steel is best when corrosion resistance is a must.
Application Environment: Fasteners exposed to high levels of heat or chemicals will generally require specialized coatings and alloys that can keep them safe.
Load Type: Whether an application involves axial, radial, or vibration-heavy loads may call for different fastener designs.
Certification Needs: It is important that operators ensure that all purchased fasteners meet necessary industry standards, with NAS, MS, and BAC standards all being common in the aerospace industry.

By evaluating these basic forms of criteria, operators can best ensure that the fasteners they employ in assembly or maintenance support both all objectives.

Automatize Buying: Your Sourcing Solution

For those seeking dependable aerospace fasteners and hardware, Automatize Buying is proud to offer access to a comprehensive range of quality-assured items that are strictly sourced from trusted manufacturers and suppliers across the globe. With our ability to connect you with competitive priced options that are always delivered on time, we can help you ensure aircraft achieve the levels of reliability, safety, and performance that modern operations demand. See why so many customers continuously depend on Automatize Buying when you get in touch with our industry experts today.