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The Plastic Bolt 14-May-2007 At 6:45:22 PM dougo

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On 14/05/2007 Dom wrote:
>A plastic bolt wouldn't biodegrade and plastic doesn't stress fracture.

what do you mean when you say that plastic doesn't stress fracture? anytime anything breaks it's due to stresses in the material exceeding the limit of that material. saying that something doesn't stress fracture implies that it is indestructible.

i don't think there is a suitable plastic, cheap enough to be viable, that would hold the forces involved unless its diameter was huge. from what i understand the poly hex works by deforming as you fall and absorbing some of the energy that way (haven't seen them but heard they are a bugger to clean if fell on?) This wouldn't be a great feature in a bolt - a material which gives alot of flex. The other thing to think about is the cyclic loading of the bolt, which i imagine would be the real killer.

good thought about the environmental factors (non degradable etc), but i don't think the material needed exists.