Experimental and numerical appraisal of self-piercing riveting

Self-piercing riveting (SPR) has become an interesting alternative joining technique for difficult to weld materials. A limitation of this technology is still the heavy experimental procedure needed for joint optimisation. In this paper, an experimental activity on Al6082-T4 sheet metal samples has been conducted to achieve a better understanding of the process. The joining process and the tensile tests have then been simulated using a FE code...