HENRY GRANJON PRIZE COMPETITION 2009 Winner Category A: “Joining and Fabrication Technology”FRICTION RIVETING: development and analysis of a new joining technique for polymer-metal multi-material structures

Abstract

The Friction Riveting (FricRiveting) technique is a new alternative spot joining process developed for polymer- metal multi-materials structures. In the technique, a cylindrical metallic rivet is used to join one or more thermoplastic-metal components by means of plasticizing and deforming the tip of the rotating rivet through frictional heating. Advantages of this new technique are short joining cycles, minimal sample preparation and absence of environmental emissions. Friction riveted joints have enhanced mechanical performance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of FricRiveting by analyzing a case-study joint on polyetherimide/aluminium alloys. Sound joints on polyetherimide/aluminium 2024-T351 with elevated mechanical strength (up to 93 % of the rivet strength) were successfully produced and characterized in terms of process temperature, microhardness and microstructure.