A numerical model for analysis of riveted splice joints accounting for secondary bending and plates/rivet interaction

The paper presents a numerical procedure for the analysis of riveted splice joints, taking into account the effect of the secondary out-of-plane bending and plates/rivet interaction. The joint is idealized by two separate layers that are linked by beam connectors with variable circular cross-sections, in order to account for the countersunk effect of the rivet heads. Rotational spring elements are used to partially restrain the rivet heads in the x–y plane. Gap elements are used to simulate the in-plane load transfer between the rivets and spliced plates. The efficiency of the method is illustrated by analyzing three models of splice joints. It is shown that the secondary bending largely affects the maximum tensile and compressive stresses within the joint. The difference may reach up to 39%. Finally, experimental comparison is made with photo-elastic test results for a spliced specimen with eighteen rivets. The predicted maximum shear strains along several lines within the splice region, for both cases, are found to be in reasonable agreement. Factors affected the experimental and the finite element results are also discussed.