On the Influence of Riveting Process Parameters on Fatigue Life of Riveted Lap Joint

In this paper, influence of riveting process parameters, namely, riveting force, sheet thickness, friction coefficient and clearance fit are investigated on residual stress field and fatigue life of single riveted lap joint of AA2024 type. According to the effect of riveting induced residual stresses on fatigue life of riveted lap joint, these parameters are optimized to maximize the residual stress field. For this purpose, finite element simulations are performed for various combinations of the parameters according to Taguchi design of experiments. Afterwards, the parameter combination that maximize the residual stress field and the most effective parameters are obtained. The joint with maximum residual stress field is considered to have a semi-elliptical crack emanating from the rivet hole as an initial defect. Stress intensity factors are calculated by implementing two approaches: First, formulation overview that considers the effect of residual stress field, geometry and secondary bending, and second, the finite element method. The fatigue life of the joint is estimated using the obtained stress intensity factors and Paris-Erdogan rule. Finally, good accordance is found between results of these two approaches.