Injection lap riveting

Abstract

This paper presents an injection lap riveting process to connect two sheets placed one on top of the other. The process is carried out at ambient temperature and differs from self-pierce riveting because its joining principle is based on plasticity and friction without fracture and formation of new surfaces. The working principle is based on two consecutive operations - first, a dovetail ring hole is machined in the lower sheet and then a semi tubular rivet is injected through the upper sheet into the dovetail ring hole of the lower sheet, by compression with a punch. The presentation is based on a combined experimental and numerical investigation and special emphasis is put on the influence of the dovetail ring hole geometry in material flow, riveting force, and pull-out and shear destructive forces. The last past of the paper includes details of a prototype cutting tool that was developed by the authors for producing the dovetail ring holes in-site and fostering the portability and applicability of the process.