NOTE: Members should also read Process Safety and our pipe flanges (type of bolts, threads showing, etc.)
Some may claim this to be a trick question. I assure you it is not meant to be, but as I will point out in this article, having too much bolt extending beyond its nut can be an issue, as well as not having the bolt flush with the outer surface of the nut.
Have you ever encountered a nut and bolt assembly where something did not look right? How about a pipe flange or a manway on a pressurized process where the nuts are just biting onto the bolt, clearly because either the wrong bolts were used or an incorrect gasket assembly is being used and not allowing the two flanges to meet their tolerances? And by the way, this article can apply to any bolt and nut assembly, not just pressurized systems or chemical processes. As a safety professional, I use the principle on my kid’s bicycles!!! The $64,000,000 question is… how far should a bolt pass through a nut in order for that assembly to meet the full ASME design rating?