Plastic deformation of hot riveted joints acting in shear

Abstract: A popular way to maintain old rivet connections is to reuse the old connection and replace the old rivets with high grade steel bolts. In doing so the behavior of the joint can change due to the new geometry, where a gap between the new bolt and the rivet hole emerges. By constructing multiple numerical models in the finite element software Abaqus, the shear behavior of single lap- and butt joints were analysed over the plastic deformation all the way to the final rupture. The complexity of the models with multiple non-linearity’s such as plasticity, non linear geometry and contact required the explicit solving method for finding converging solutions. The models reliability were confirmed true convergence studies as well as verification of the ultimate failure by using Eurocode calculations.The study found significant differences in the deformation behavior when replacing a rivet with a bolt. The bolted joints curved and buckled to a noticeable extent and the shear plane acted in a more tilted way then for the riveted models. The higher stiffness of the bolt led to a skewed deformation in the bolted joints which enlarged the overall deformation. The bolted models also showed a less stiff initial behavior than the riveted models when subjugated to a shear force. These changes in behavior were prevalent for both the single lap- and the butt joints. The convergence study showed a great dependence on the element size for the plastic deformation as well as the final damage in the models. It was also shown that if analysing the joints under the elastic deformation range the element size were not as important.