Modeling of Self-Piercing Rivets Using Fasteners in Crash Analysis

Self-piercing rivets are represented as fasteners in an ABAQUS/Explicit crash analysis. The deformation behavior of a rivet is described using connector elasticity and plasticity models, while its failure is modeled using the "connector damage" card. In order to consider the dependence of the rivet failure on loading direction, the connector damage is defined as a function of the mode-mix ratio. The deformation and damage behavior of the connector is calibrated with test results carried out on single rivet specimens, as well as with peeling test results. The calibrated rivet model is then used in an axial crash test simulation. The simulation results were found to be in good agreement with the test results.