A large-scale finite element point-connector model for self-piercing rivet connections

A new resultant-based point-connector model has been developed for use with large-scale finite element crash simulations for non-linear explicit finite element analysis. The nature of the model has been based on the observed physical failure behaviour of a self-piercing rivet connecting two aluminium sheets. The model is able to describe the complete force-deformation behaviour of the SPR connection from initial loading until failure. The paper gives an overview of the analytical background of the model and shows how the model parameters can be identified from experiments using a reverse engineering approach.