RIVETED JOINTS

RIVET

A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a punched or pre-drilled hole, and the tail is upset, or bucked(i.e. deformed), so that it expands to about 1.5 times the original shaft diameter, holding the rivet in place. To distinguish between the two ends of the rivet, the original head is called the factory head and the deformed end is called the shop head or buck-tail.

Because there is effectively a head on each end of an installed rivet, it can support tension loads (loads parallel to the axis of the shaft); however, it is much more capable of supporting shear loads (loads perpendicular to the axis of the shaft). Bolts and screws are better suited for tension applications.

Fastenings used in traditional wooden boat building, like copper nails and clinch bolts, work on the same principle as the rivet but were in use long before the term rivet came about and, where they are remembered, are usually classified among the nails and bolts respectively.

Types of riveted joints and joint efficiency:

Riveted joints are mainly of two types

1. Lap joints

2. Butt joints

Lap Joints: The plates that are to be joined are brought face to face such that an overlap exists,Rivets are inserted on the overlapping portion. Single or multiple rows of rivets are used to give strength to the joint. Depending upon the number of rows the riveted joints may be classified as single riveted lap joint, double or triple riveted lap joint etc. When multiple joints are used, the arrangement of rivets between two neighbouring rows may be of two kinds. In chain riveting the adjacent rows have rivets in the same transverse line. In zig-zag riveting, on the other hand, the adjascent rows of rivets are staggered.     

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Posted in: Mechanical Engineering,R