Numerical Simulation and Experiment of Self-piercing Riveting with Solid Rivet Joining Multi-layer Aluminum Sheets

Numerical simulation and experiment of self-piercing riveting with solid rivet joining multi-layer aluminum sheets are carried out in this paper. The forming process of the riveting and the distribution of stress are analyzed, the results show that the simulation is consistent with the experiment. The results of experiment prove that the transition point of the cone-shaped head of the solid rivet, the size and position of groove affect directly the quality of riveting. The fillet at the transition point of the cone-shaped head of the solid rivet can decline the maximum stress of the rivet. When the distance between the center of groove and bottom of rivet is about three quarters of the bottom sheet thickness, the bottom sheet of self-piercing does not fall off. The self-piercing riveting with solid rivet joining multi-layer aluminum sheets is feasible.