Crashworthiness of self-piercing riveted connections

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on the behaviour of self-piercing riveted connections under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. The specimens were made from aluminium sheets in alloy AlMg3.5Mn and AlMg3.0Mn with a nominal thickness of 3 mm. The dynamic tests were performed using a viscoelastic split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). Two different specimen geometries were designed in order to test the riveted connections under pull-out and shear loading conditions. The dynamic tests were performed under three different velocities, i.e. approximately 10, 15 and 20 m/s, and compared with tests performed under static conditions. The influence of the loading rate on the behaviour of the riveted connection was investigated in terms of force–displacement curves and failure mode. Furthermore, a 3D numerical model of the riveted connection was generated using the explicit finite-element code LS-DYNA and numerical simulations of the quasi-static and dynamic tests were performed.