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Civil-Comp Proceedings
ISSN 1759-3433
CCP: 98
PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RAILWAY TECHNOLOGY: RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE
Edited by: J. Pombo
Paper 80

Numerical Studies of Rivets in the Design of a High Speed Train

Z. Zhang, H.F. Ye, L.F. Jin, Y.L. Liu, Z.Q. Xie and H.W. Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Faculty of Vehicle Engineering and Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, China

Full Bibliographic Reference for this paper
Z. Zhang, H.F. Ye, L.F. Jin, Y.L. Liu, Z.Q. Xie, H.W. Zhang, "Numerical Studies of Rivets in the Design of a High Speed Train", in J. Pombo, (Editor), "Proceedings of the First International Conference on Railway Technology: Research, Development and Maintenance", Civil-Comp Press, Stirlingshire, UK, Paper 80, 2012. doi:10.4203/ccp.98.80
Keywords: high speed train, finite element method, rivet, stress, pretension.

Summary
Numerical models were proposed to study the effects of rivet pretensions on the the strength of key components for the high speed train. An analytical method in combination with a finite element analysis is proposed in the current work to study the reliable stress prediction of rivets in the high speed train. By use of the proposed method, the mesh-sensitive problem in the rivet-plate contact analysis can be avoided. To study the effect of the pre-tightening force, the rivet numbers, the rivet locations and the applied external force on the joined plates, the joints with a rivet, a line of rivets and two lines of rivets are simulated by use of the finite element model and analysed by use of the proposed method for the safety design of rivet joints. The results obtained can be useful for the design of joints in the key components of the high speed train and the results obtained are summarised as follows,
  1. The stress on the rivet is determined by the pre-tightening force, the frictional force and the extrusion forces on the rivet. The mesh sensitivity problem can be avoided by use of the proposed method.
  2. The frictional force between the joined plates instead of the rivet extrusion force makes the main contribution when the pre-tightening force is considered. This is very important and should be considered in the design of the rivet joints.
  3. When the pre-tightening force is increased to a certain level, the stress on the rivet is only determined by the pre-tightening force and the plates joined by rivet can be considered as a whole plate in the analysis.
  4. When the applied external force on the joined plate is increased, the effect of the pre-tightening force on the calculations of the rivet extrusion force becomes more obvious and more important.
  5. The extrusion force on the first and the last rivets in the rivet line is higher than the other rivets.
  6. When the pre-tightening force is increased, the extrusion forces on different rivets become similar.
  7. As a result of the mesh-sensitivity nature in the rivet contact finite element analysis, it is strongly recommended that the proposed analytical method is used in combination with a finite element analysis to evaluate the safety of the rivets.

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