Failure of a Riveted Joint

A riveted combined may fail in any of the following manners or their combination:

Shearing of Rivets

The forces in the connecting members cause a direct uniform shear force across the cross-sectional area of the rivet. When the shear stress in the rivet cross-section reaches its maximum permissible value, τvf, failure is supposed to occur.

The resistance of a rivet within single shear is given by following equation :

Fs = (π/4) d  .τ _vf                                                                                                                      

where d is the total diameter of the rivet.

Sometimes, there can be two shearing planes when more than two plates are used. Resistance of a rivet failing in double shear is twice the above value.