Summary for stainless bolts on aluminum Discussion
stainless steel bolts on aluminum beams are discussed as a corrosion question for offshore helideck use. Shabbir Munaverali asked whether SS bolts are fair to use with 6082-T6 aluminum beams and girders. James Watts replied that there should be an industry standard; if not, he suggested using the next size larger aluminum bolt to avoid corrosion problems. Neelesh Uppal later said there is no problem using stainless fasteners on aluminum offshore applications and pointed to aluminium-offshore.com as a reference on bi-metallic corrosion. In 2013, Folkert Tazelaar asked for the link, and Ted Mooney reported that the cited page and PDF were no longer available. He cautioned that, without the missing PDF, he would be careful about treating the reference as proof that stainless-to-aluminum contact is safe in this critical application, noting that the archived page seemed aimed at preventing such contact. He added that stainless hardware on anodized railings is common in non-critical uses.
Is it fair to use SS bolts to join Aluminum (6082-T6) beams & girders for the services of Offshore helideck purposes?
Shabbir Munaverali
Kristiansand Drilling Inc. – Singapore
2005
A. There must be an industry standard. If not, why not go to the next size larger aluminum bolt and avoid corrosion problems.
James Watts
– Navarre, Florida
2005
A. Yes, there is no problem in using ss fasteners on aluminum offshore applications. See
www.aluminium-offshore.com/our-business/timber-refit-decking-system
and click on bi-metallic corrosion.
Neelesh Uppal
– Singapore
October 26, 2008
Hi, Neelash. Thanks for the interesting link!
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
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October 2008
Q. Please can you provide the information (link) on the use of SS bolts in Aluminum helidecks?
Folkert Tazelaar
– Hilversum, Netherlands
November 29, 2013
A. Hi Folkert. Sorry, but apparently the page which Neelash Uppal offered has been purged as I find nothing even vaguely related. But that page is available from archive.org.
Unfortunately the link to “bi-metallic corrosion” at aluminium-offshore.com/files/Bi-metal%20connections.pdf is broken. Perhaps you can inquire at aluminium-offshore.com whether it’s possible for you to get an archived copy of that pdf.
Without that pdf, I would be careful about accepting this reference as evidence that metallic contact between stainless steel and aluminum is safe in this application because the thrust of the archived page seems to be that their system is designed to prevent such contact. But in non-critical applications, I think most of us have seen anodized railings attached to concrete balconies with stainless steel hardware. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
November 2013