Riveted Joints

ME2140 Machine Elements and Innovative Design

Dr Hans Gray
Dr Udaya Kahangamage
Department of Mechanical Engineering

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Riveted Joint

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Rivets …

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Applications …

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Applications …

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Heavy Machinery …

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Heavy Machinery – Car Dumper

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Steel Bridges …

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Fourth Bridge - Scotland

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Sydney Harbour Bridge

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Sydney Harbour Bridge

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Sydney Harbour Bridge

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Airplanes

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Airplanes

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Ships

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Buses

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Outline…
 Introduction
 Advantages of riveted joints
 Disadvantages of riveted joints
 Types of rivets & Types of riveted
joints
 Failure mechanism
 Strength calculations under static
loads
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Learning Outcomes

At the end of this section, you

should be able to:
 Select appropriate joint type for a
given application
 Design the size of the rivets
considering strength requirements

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Introduction
 Riveted joints have been widely employed
in various engineering structures, such as
ships, boilers, bridges, etc.
 The use of riveted joints has considerably
been reduced due to the rapid
development of welding techniques
 Rivets are the main kind of fasteners in
light frames and thin sheet shells made of
light metals and alloys such as aluminium
 Light alloys are difficult to weld

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Rivets
 The material of the rivets must be
tough and ductile
 Usually made of steel, brass,
aluminium or copper
 When strength and a fluid tight joint
is the main consideration, steel
rivets are used

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Types of Rivets

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Riveted Joints

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Riveted Joint – Cross Section

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Advantages of Riveted Joints
 Riveted joints have high resistance
against vibrational loads.
 Can join difficult to weld parts:
 Dissimilar metals
 Thin plates
 Joints that cannot be subjected to heating
 Riveted joints can be dismantled by
cutting off the rivet heads.
 Quality control is easier

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Disadvantages of Riveted Joints
 Rivet holes weaken the working
cross section of the joint.
 More metal is required for the joint
owing to the necessity of
overlapping the joined plates

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Types of Riveted Joints (1)
Riveted joints may be classified according
to:
 The purpose for which it is used
 Strong joints – strength is the prime
requirement
 Tight strong joints – strength & leak proof
 Method of placing joining member (eg.
Lap and Butt)
 The type of rivets employed (eg. Solid
and tubular)
 The number of rows of rivets used (eg.
Single, double, triple)
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Types of Riveted Joints (2)

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Design Tips
 At least two rivets should be used
for each joint to avoid relative
turning motion
 Avoid placing rivets in constricted
areas
 Arrange rivets in Zig-zag pattern
when using 2 or more rows of rivets
 Use equal diameter rivets in a
particular joint
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Failure of Riveted Joints (1)

A rivet joint may fail in the following

ways:
 Shear of the rivets

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Failure of Riveted Joints (2)

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Failure of Riveted Joints (3)
 Crushing of the rivets and plates

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Failure of Riveted Joints (4)
 Rupture of the plate in the section
weakened by the holes

Tearing of plate at edge Tearing of plate across

the rows of rivets
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Strength Calculation under Static
Loads

The method of strength calculation

is based on the following
assumptions:
 The force is uniformly distributed
between all elements
 There is no friction force between
the elements to be joined

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 Tearing of plate at edge

 This can be avoided by maintaining a

margin, m = 1.5d

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Tearing of plate across the rows of rivets
 p= ptich of rivets
 d= diameter of rivet
 t= thickness of plate
 σt= permissible tensile
stress for the plate material

 Tearing area per pitch length At= (p-d)t

 Pull required to tear off plate Pt = At * σt
= (p-d)t*σt
If the applied load P is smaller than Pt no tearing will occur.

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 Strength Calculation under Static
Loads (2)
 Shear strength of
rivets

Force on the rivet Ps 4 Ps

τ= = = = [τ ]
Shear stress area nπd 2
nπd 2

4
If the joint is lapped by two straps ??

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Strength Calculation under Static
Loads (3)

 Crushing strength

Force on the rivet Pc

σc = = = [σ c ]
Crushing stress area ndt

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Strength of a riveted joint
 The strength of a joint is the maximum force, which it
can transmit, without causing it to fail
 Joint can fail by
(i) tearing off the plate (Pt)
(ii) shearing off the rivet (Ps) &
(iii) crushing off the rivet (Pc)
 The strength of a riveted joint is the smallest of

Pt, Ps, and Pc

 For continuous joints as in the case of a boiler, the
calculations are done for a pitch.
 For small joints the calculations are done for the entire
joint

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Efficiency of Riveted Joints (1)
 The ratio of the strength of the
riveted joint to the strength of the
plate section

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Efficiency of Riveted Joints (2)

least of Pt , Ps and Pc
η=
ptσ t

where, p = pitch length,

t = thickness of plates,
σt = tensile stress of plates

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Example
 A single riveted lap joint is made of
15mm thick plates with 20mm
diameter rivets. Determine the
strength of the joint, if the pitch of
rivets is 60mm. Take [σt]= 120MPa,
τ = 90MPa, and [σc]= 160MPa.
 What is the efficiency of this riveted
joint

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Eccentrically loaded riveted joints
 A = Cross-section area of each rivet
 x1, x2, x3 etc. = Distance of rivets from OY
 y1, y2, y3 etc. = Distance of rivets from OX
_
Ax + Ax2 + ... _
Ay1 + Ay2 + ...
x= 1 y=
n⋅ A n⋅ A

R = Ps2 + F 2 + 2 Ps × F × cos θ

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Average Ratios and Dimensions of
Riveted Joints

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