Are you still using “lock washers”?, They are worse than useless Options

[Superhawk996]

Food for thought.

Split ring lock washers were abandoned by the auto industry as well as aviation long ago and for good reason.

They are worse than useless. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stirthepot.gif)

It is well documented that they don’t provide any locking function. I say worse than useless because one of their failure modes is cracking. When this happens the joint loosens, the remnants of the cracked lock washer fall out, and now you have a loose joint.

Here’s a few I found recently that had been cracked and were on the verge of falling out. You will also notice that even the ones that aren’t cracked are flattened and have lost any spring effect.



The inability of a split ring lock washer to provide any locking is documented in NASA literature.




https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19900009424

As well as Naval Ships Technical Manual Chpt. 75 that recommends other solutions.


https://maritime.org/doc/nstm/ch075.pdf