Modeling and Simulation of Two Plates Connected Via a Single Riveted Lap-Joint

Abstract

Abstract

Rivets and riveted lap joints are an important mechanical fasteners that are used in a large verity of application and their performance rely on many parameters. The goal of this study is to model and simulate two plates joined together by a riveted lap joint,   A three-dimensional finite element model of a riveted joint has been developed using ANSYS Static Structural v15. Various parameters were investigated such as the rivet diameter and configuration under different loads and study the generated equivalent stress. . Four configuration were used, which are 2-vertical, 2-horizontal, 4-inline and 4-staggered configurations and diameter of 0.2cm to 0.4cm were also used. The plate was subjected to forces ranging between 2000N to 8000N. Results have shown that the 4-inline was the best configuration due to it having lower stresses then the other configuration, followed by the 2-vertical configuration. The 2-horizontal and 4-staggered configuration had the worst performance and had similar performances. The stresses produced by the forces had a linear relationship with the magnitude of the force. Finally, the results showed that the best rivet design was the 4-inline configuration with a diameter of 0.4cm, since increasing the diameter beyond that had a much lower benefit.