Self-piercing riveting with inner flange pipe rivet

Self-piercing riveting is a high-speed mechanical fastening technique for joining sheet-material components. In recent years, the development of the self-piercing riveting technology has broadened the application of the technology in the automobile industry. In this paper, a new method of joining metal sheets using a short pipe rivet with inner flange is proposed. Self-pierce riveting with inner flange pipe rivet is used to joint Al6063 aluminum alloy sheets. Riveting process is presented. Different parameters of rivet height, rivet diameter, rivet end angle and rivet wall thickness are combined to obtain forming laws and static mechanical performance. Tensile tests of the lap joints, coach peel joints and cross joints of self-piercing riveting with inner flange pipe rivet are carried out. The effects of rivet heights, diameters, end angle and rivet wall thickness on tensile strength are explored. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.