Journal Pre-proofs

Design variables influencing the fatigue of Al 2024-T3 in riveted aircraft lap

joints: Squeeze force and initial fit tolerance

Chao Zeng, Jiu Tian Xue, Xiang Yao Liu, Wei Tian

PII: S0142-1123(20)30282-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2020.105751
Reference: JIJF 105751

To appear in: International Journal of Fatigue

Received Date: 26 March 2020

Revised Date: 2 June 2020
Accepted Date: 3 June 2020

Please cite this article as: Zeng, C., Xue, J.T., Liu, X.Y., Tian, W., Design variables influencing the fatigue of Al
2024-T3 in riveted aircraft lap joints: Squeeze force and initial fit tolerance, International Journal of Fatigue
(2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2020.105751

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Design variables influencing the fatigue of Al 2024-T3 in
riveted aircraft lap joints: Squeeze force and initial fit
tolerance
Chao Zenga,∗, Jiu Tian Xuea , Xiang Yao Liua , Wei Tianb
a
School of Aerospace Engineering, Guizhou Institute of Technology, Guiyang 550003,
China
b
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China

Abstract
This study experimentally analyzed the influence of squeeze force and
initial fit tolerance on the fatigue property of a riveted aircraft lap joint. All
specimens were prepared under load control and tested under six levels of
fatigue loads. The results showed that an initially oversized rivet might be
detrimental to fatigue-life improvement. Increasing the squeeze force within
an allowable range could extend the fatigue life generally. A relative decrease
was also observed at a higher range of squeeze force. A higher fatigue load
was likely to weaken the effect of the interference fit. The reduced fatigue life
at higher squeeze forces could be clearly explained in terms of the fretting
characteristics on the faying surface as a result of different squeeze forces
and load levels. This study suggests that, to fully extend the fatigue life of
riveted lap joints, the influence of working fatigue loads must be considered
in the structure design.
Keywords: Fatigue property, Fretting, Riveting, Lap joint, Squeeze force,
Fit tolerance

∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-851-88211178.
Email address: h_zeng@nuaa.edu.cn (Chao Zeng)

Preprint submitted to International Journal of Fatigue June 2, 2020

1. Introduction
Although the welding and adhesive bonding technology may create air-
craft lap joints with high mechanical performance reducing weight and ex-
tending inspection interval, riveted or bolted joints are widely used in air-
craft structures, and their use will continue in the foreseeable future, because
they can be easily dismantled and repaired after any service life [1, 2]. The
mechanical properties of riveted lap joints profoundly affect the safety of
aircraft fuselages. To extend the life of new-generation aircraft, the influ-
ence of riveting variables on the fatigue property of a lap joint, which is a
representative of the fuselage structure, should be understood more clearly
from the perspective of structure reliability. Although several production
and design variables account for the mechanical properties of the lap joints,
including the sheet material, rivet type and material, hole quality, riveting
method, squeeze force, rivet spacing, and distance of the rivet from the sheet
edge, the squeeze force should be considered as a fundamental factor, which
is closely related to the driven rivet-head dimension (D/D0 ) and changes in
the fatigue property [3].
The effect of riveting squeeze force on the lap joint can be generally as-
cribed to the residual stress in the sheet material as a result of the riveting
process. A zone with compressive residual stresses has been widely reported
to be created in the vicinity of the hole if the squeeze force is properly de-
signed [4, 5]. Because of the presence of compressive stress, the stress con-
centration caused by the hole can be greatly reduced, which consequently
contributes to the improved fatigue property of the lap joints [6–9]. Because
the fatigue property is assumed to be controlled by the local stress ampli-
tude at a critical location in a joint, in addition to the change in the external
fatigue loads, the residual-stress characteristics that result from different riv-
eting parameters may present a direct solution to the change in the fatigue
life [10, 11]. Therefore, to disclose the fatigue mechanism and crack propa-
gations in a lap joint, the residual stresses introduced by an interference fit,
e.g., cold expansion of the hole, interference riveting, and hi-lock bolting, are
frequently studied by many researchers [7, 12–16].
With regard to the riveting process, the change in the squeeze force can
not only influence the residual-stress distribution in the sheet but also re-
sult in different residual clamping pressure between the stacked sheets. The
friction force on the mating surface and slipping displacement during cyclic
loading have been substantiated to vary under different squeeze forces, which

2
present a considerable influence on the fatigue property of lap joints [10]. As
the clamping force in a bolted joint can feasibly be characterized by the
applied tightening torque, the influence of clamping on the joint fatigue is
widely discussed in academia. A quantitative study found that clamping
due to bolts varied under a longitudinal tension load [17]. With regard to
the influence of clamping pressure on fatigue, some studies revealed that the
fatigue strength of double-bolted lap joints was enhanced by increasing the
clamping force [18, 19]. Generally, increased fatigue life is ascribed to the
friction between the stacked sheets, which increases the transfer load in the
joint from one sheet to another and leads to a reduction in the crack growth
rate [20, 21]. However, for high-cycle fatigue, fretting between the sheets
may cause an early fatigue-crack initiation, which leads to reduction in the
fatigue life [21]. In addition to the friction, higher clamping is also suggested
to result in compressive stresses around the hole, which accounts for the
increased fatigue life [20, 22].
Because of different squeeze forces, the load transfer and residual stress
around a hole are also deemed as main factors that explicate the fatigue
property of riveted lap joints [10]. Nevertheless, compared with the bolted
joints, the clamping pressure is generally difficult to directly measure or cal-
culate using the riveting force. Therefore, investigating the influence of the
riveting squeeze force on the fatigue property of joints can be more chal-
lenging [19, 23]. To account for the changed fatigue lives resulting from dif-
ferent squeeze forces, especially the improved fatigue property, the residual-
stress-based analysis has been employed by many researchers. However, this
method cannot sufficiently explain the fatigue mechanism resulting from a
level of high riveting forces. Although the fracture mechanism under a higher
interference-fit level may be different for metals and composites, the fatigue
properties in relation to the changed interference-fit size have been reported
to be strongly dependent on the level of external fatigue loads [24, 25]. The
deterioration of the fatigue property of carbon fiber reinforced polymer com-
posite materials caused by an oversized interference fit can be attributed to
the so-caused damages [14]. However, few studies have been conducted on
metallic materials with regard to the deteriorated fatigue performance caused
by a larger interference fit [26]. Although Zhang et al. [27] proposed a Spring
model to elucidate the load effect [24], it was still not capable of accounting
for the relative fatigue deterioration caused by increasing the squeeze force
at a higher load level.
From the perspective of hole expansion, both the squeeze force and the

3
initial fit tolerance contribute to the final amount of interference fit, in ad-
dition to the assembly stress around the hole [28, 29]. Furthermore, the
fitting condition between the hole and rivet is responsible for the fretting
on the surface of the hole [16, 30]. Although the residual stress are widely
reported in the realm of riveting-fatigue research, the fretting damage on the
rivet/hole interface and the faying surface of the stacked sheets are merely
involved. Because the friction and the relevant fretting are observed to be
strongly dependent on the riveting squeeze force, which contributes to the
final fatigue behavior of the joint, this paper presents a comprehensive study
on the fatigue property of Al-2024 riveted lap joints concerning the influence
of fit tolerance and squeeze-force variations. In particular, the fretting dam-
age is investigated to account for the fatigue deterioration at high levels of
squeeze force.

2. Experimental arrangement
2.1. Specimen preparation
The materials used are 2024-T3 and 2117-T4 aluminum alloy for the
sheets and the rivet, respectively. Two 2-mm-thick sheets were assembled
using protruding-head rivet MS20470AD5-5-5, whose nominal diameter was
4 mm and initial shank length was 9 mm. According to the experimental
measurement for hundreds of rivets, the actual diameter of the rivet was
decided to be approximately 4.06 mm, on average. To account for interference
or a clearance fit of 1%, the diameter of the rivet hole was drilled at either
0.04 mm larger or 0.04 mm smaller than that of the rivet shank. In addition,
hole diameter with the same size as the rivet was also considered for analysis
of the transition fit.
A customized automatic riveting machine with two modes, displacement-
controlled mode and force-controlled mode, was employed to perform the
experiment. The displacement-controlled mode was used to insert an over-
sized rivet to the hole, while the dimensions of the driven rivet head were
obtained using the force-controlled mode. After a preliminary study of the
relationship between the squeeze force and the driven head dimension, the
squeeze forces, Fsq s, ranging from 10.2 to 18 kN were chosen, as shown in
Table 1.

4
 Table 1. Riveting squeeze force for different specimens.

Specimens Fsq [kN] Drivet [mm] Dhole [mm]

A1 group 10.2 4.06 4.10
A2 group 11.6 4.06 4.10
A3 group 14.0 4.06 4.10
A4 group 15.8 4.06 4.10
A5 group 18.0 4.06 4.10
B1 group 15.8 4.06 4.06
B2 group 15.8 4.06 4.02

2.2. Fatigue test

The configuration of the fatigue-test specimen is shown in Fig. 1, for
which the riveting-induced residual stress and resultant mechanical property
were investigated using finite element analysis (FEA) in a previous study by
the authors [11]. The fatigue tests were carried out at room temperature on
a fully computerized MTS 810 servo-hydraulic testing machine under load
control. For each group of specimens listed in Table 1, 18 specimens were
prepared for the fatigue test, which corresponded to six maximum fatigue
stresses, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, and 150 MPa, defined by the nominal
normal stresses on the cross section of the sheet away from the joint. For
each fatigue stress, e.g. Smax = 100 MPa, three tests were performed for
the same riveting parameters. The fatigue load with a frequency of 8 Hz
and sinusoidal waveform was employed, where stress ratio Smin /Smax = 0.1.
After the fatigue experiment, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis
was carried out on the fracture surface of the failed specimen to obtain the
crack-propagation information.

3. Fatigue-crack growth rate (FCGR)

3.1. Fatigue striation spacing
The specimens were found generally failed in the sheets with Mode I
cracks and no rivet fracture occurred. The explanation of the crack charac-
teristics is detailed later in Sec. 4. To elucidate the relationship between the
striation spacing and FCGR, coefficient Df was defined as the ratio of the

5
 Unit in mm
Upper sheet
210
2
2
210 Tensile direction
Lower sheet
Clamping zone

10
20

80 10 10 10

Fig. 1. Configuration of the riveted lap joint for fatigue test.

FCGR, i.e., da/dN , to striation spacing s, which is expressed as

da/dN
Df = (1)
s
According to the fatigue-crack propagation theory, the crack length increases
after a cyclic loading, resulting in fatigue striation. Hence, the striation
spacing can be considered to be equal to the crack growth rate, i.e., Df =
1, which was validated by the crack-propagation analysis of Al-alloy and
low-alloy ferric steels [31, 32]. More generally, Df is substantiated to be
related to the crack length and can vary within several orders from 10−3
to 10 [33], because of the discontinuous propagation of fatigue-crack front,
deviation in the local direction of fatigue-crack growth, synergy of striation
micromechanism with other fracture micromechanisms, etc. Nedbal studied
the fatigue-crack propagation of Al2024 and presented a universal formula
for Df as [34]
Df = 3.15 · s1.13 (2)
Based on the given law between Df and s, the crack growth history can be
reconstituted as Z ax
da
Nx = + Ni (3)
ai Df s(a)

where ai and Ni denote the current length and corresponding fatigue life,
which are accordingly given, while Nx stands for the total fatigue life when
the crack grows from length ai to ax .

6
Fig. 2. Fatigue fracture surface of the specimen with a large number of
striations.

3.2. Experimental observation

Fig. 2 shows the SEM view of the fatigue fracture surface of the specimen
with large striations, although they are not clearly observed in some regions.
The striations generally exhibit a curved front, and the curves could have dif-
ferent growth directions at different locations; this indicates that the crack
grew in different directions in the different regions, leaving a curved crack
front on the fracture surface, as shown in Fig. 3(a). For convenient compar-
ison with the FEA result [11], the crack propagation on the faying surface
was analyzed according to precedence. Therefore, SEM images with clear
fatigue striations were captured at several locations on the fracture surface
near the faying surface. For a rudimentary analysis of the FCGR, the value
of Df was assumed to be one. In general, 10 clear striations were observed,
as shown in Fig. 3(b), and the average spacing was identified as the FCGR.
A comparison of the FCGR between the experimental and FEA results
was shown in Fig. 4. The Mode I SIFs (stress intensity factors), which
were calculated based on the virtual crack closure technology via the com-
mercial FEA software ABAQUS with UEL (user dened element) subroutine,
related to different crack lengths can be found in Ref [11]. An approximate
value of D/D0 of 1.37 was achieved consequent to a riveting force of 11.6
kN. Fsq = 15.8 kN resulted in approximately D/D0 value of 1.53. Fig. 4
shows that the FCGR deduced by the striation spacing might not be per-
fectly consistent with the FEA result. Moreover, a localized drop in the

7
Fig. 3. Fatigue fracture of the riveted specimen: (a) overview of the fracture
surface, and (b) fatigue striation measurement.

FCGR with increasing crack length could be observed from the experimen-
tal data, which can be frequently found in reported works on fatigue-crack
growth reconstructions via a fatigue striation study [32, 35]. The possible
reasons for these results could be the difference in the crack shape between
the FEA model and experiment, measurement errors, and the value of Df .
Nevertheless, allowing for the inherent property of fatigue scattering, the
experimental test could be deemed to generally agree well with the theoret-
ical analysis, especially for the specimens with D/D0 = 1.37. On the other
hand, for the specimens with D/D0 = 1.53, the difference in the FCGRs
between the experimental and numerical results could be recognized when
the cracks became longer, e.g., a > 3.5 mm. With regard to the influence of
the riveting force (indicated by D/D0 ), Fig. 4 reveals that a higher squeeze
force (D/D0 = 1.53) could result in a lower FCGR, and a lower squeeze
force (D/D0 = 1.37) could lead to a higher FCGR, which suggested that
the specimens subjected to a higher squeeze force could have longer fatigue
lives. Because of the riveting-induced residual stress that mainly existed in
the vicinity of the hole, the residual stress could provide a slight influence on
the FCGR for long cracks. Therefore, both the curves and data could come
very close to each other with the increase in the crack length.
In addition, because short cracks generally have elliptical crack fronts
that do not penetrate through the sheet thickness, whilst through cracks were
considered in the finite element model, the data of the short cracks were not
comparable. Therefore, they were not considered in the experimental test

8
 0.7
D/D0 = 1.37, experimental result
0.6 D/D0 = 1.37, FEA result
D/D0 = 1.53, experimental result
0.5
da/dN [µm/cycle]

D/D0 = 1.53, FEA result

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
a [mm]

Fig. 4. Comparison of the fatigue crack growth rate between experimental

result and FEA result. (specimens from A2 group and A4 group, Smax = 120
MPa)

shown in Fig. 4. The short cracks were observed to primarily grow in the
direction along the thickness of the sheet, and acquiring the FCGR data
along the faying surface was difficult, as shown in Fig. 5. In fact, completely
through cracks may not be easily observed when a < 1.5 mm on the faying
surface, especially for specimens resulted from higher squeeze forces.

4. Result and discussion

4.1. Fatigue fracture characteristics
A survey of the failure location in the specimen revealed that most of the
specimens failed in the upper sheet at the outer rivet on the clamping side
of the specimen. Only 5 of the 90 specimens broke in the lower sheet. This
phenomenon can be explained by the secondary bending effect of the lap
joint. Muller suggested that the bending stress was actually influenced by
the geometric characteristics of the joint, and the clamped area beneath the
rivet head could shift the maximum bending zone away from the centerline
of the rivet row, as shown in Fig. 6, which suggested that the maximum
bending zone would be closer to the net section when the rivet head diam-
eter was smaller. Because the driven rivet head in the current study was

9
Fig. 5. Fatigue striation near the faying surface for short cracks. (a = 0.39
mm, D/D0 = 1.53)

notably smaller than the manufactured head of the MS20470AD5-5-5 rivet,

the maximum bending stress in the upper sheet was much closer to the hole
surface, which likely resulted in the rupture at the upper sheet in most of
the specimens.
The location of the maximum bending zone corresponding to the diameter
variations of the rivet head also accounted for the fracture location influenced
by different squeeze forces, which resulted from the different driven-head
diameters. Fig. 7 shows that the fracture location was very close to the net
section when the riveting squeeze force was small, because of a small driven
rivet head. With the increase in the squeeze force, the fracture location
gradually shifted away from the net section. This phenomenon was also
validated by Skorupa et al. [36]. Besides, Fig. 7 shows that the level of fatigue
load could affect the location of the fatigue-crack trajectory. A high level of
fatigue load is prone to shrinking the distance between the fracture and
net sections, especially when the specimen is prepared under a high squeeze
force. Because an open-hole specimen generally suffers fatigue failure at the
net section of the hole, this phenomenon could suggest that the strengthening

10
Fig. 6. Illustration of secondary bending location due to clamped rivet head
[4].

effect created by the interference fitting was weakened when the fatigue load
was high, which has already been confirmed by Chakherlou et al. [24].
Fig. 7 also shows the fretting morphology on the faying surface, which
resulted from the different squeeze forces and fatigue loads. Generally, fret-
ting damage could be found on either side of the hole on the faying surface
from where the fatigue-crack initiation frequently occurred [36]. For a more
concrete analysis, SEM images of the fretting on the faying surface of the
representative specimens are shown in Figs. 8 and 9 to investigate the in-
fluence of the squeeze force and fatigue load. The overview of the fretting
characteristics in Fig. 7 shows that, when the riveting squeeze force was
small, e.g. Fsq = 10.2 kN, the fretting damage was negligible with the in-
crease in the level of fatigue load. It was only apparent at a lower fatigue
load, e.g., Smax = 100 MPa, because on the one hand, a smaller squeeze force
accounted for a smaller contact pressure between the riveted sheets, whereas
on the other hand, a smaller squeeze force, which corresponded to a smaller
relative slip times between the sheets, could result in a shorter fatigue life of
the specimen. As a result, when the riveting squeeze force was larger, e.g.
Fsq = 18 kN, the fretting damage observed could be very remarkable.
The influence of fatigue load on fretting could be attributed to the change
in the magnitude of the relative slip with the increase in the load level. As

11
Fig. 7. Fracture location in a rivet row corresponding to different squeeze
forces and fatigue loads.

the fatigue load increased, the contact condition could gradually change from
a partial slip to a gross slip, resulting in the different appearance of fretting
wear, as shown in Figs. 7 and 9. A small magnitude of slip corresponded to a
small shear stress, which could contribute to fine wear debris and leave some
black pollution on the faying surface after a long period of fatigue loading.
Before a gross slip could be formed, the shear stress could increase with the
increase in the slip magnitude, resulting in some severe wear of the contact
surface with a rough fretting appearance, e.g., in the specimen with Fsq = 18
kN and Smax = 150 MPa. Because the holed sheet had its weakest rigidity
near the hole, fretting generally occurred on either side of the hole and grew
along the maximum bending zone from the hole edge to the outside of the
specimen. In addition, the more the fretting slip times were experienced, the
heavier was the suffered by the faying surface at the corner of the hole and
the wider was the area of the fretting region. Thus, this result explained the
fretting characteristics shown in Figs.7-9.
Fig. 10 shows a macroscopic view of the fracture surface of the repre-
sentative specimens resulting from the different squeeze forces and fatigue
loads, which revealed the fatigue-crack initiation site, fatigue-crack propaga-
tion area, and final rupture area. A microscopic view of the fracture surface
that exhibited some typical crack initiation sites is shown in Fig. 11. We
can see that when Fsq = 10.2 kN, the fatigue cracks generally nucleated from
the hole surface and near the driven rivet-head side due to the fretting be-
tween the rivet and hole. Cracks that emanated from the faying surface were

12
Fig. 8. Fretting on the faying surface influenced by the squeeze force:
(a)Fsq = 10.2 kN; (b)Fsq = 14 kN; (c)Fsq = 18 kN.

not typically recognized. By increasing the fatigue load, any location on the
surface of the hole could become a potential crack-initiation site not only
near the driven-head side but also on the faying-surface side. The reason
was that a smaller squeeze force resulted in a smaller region and magnitude
in the residual compressive hoop stress around the hole and could sometimes
even resulted in comprehensive tensile stress at the surface layer of the hole
[5], which would not likely benefit improvement in the fatigue life of the
specimen. Thus, cracks frequently initiated from the hole surface such as an
open-hole specimen but not from the faying surface of the sheet. Increas-
ing the squeeze force could lead to an increase in the region and magnitude
in the residual compressive hoop stress in the superficial layer of the hole,
extending the fatigue life of the specimen, and the fretting damage on the
faying surface would make a new source of crack initiation [36]. In addition,
the fatigue crack was also found to be nucleated at the corner underneath
the driven rivet head, as shown in Fig. 11, which is rarely reported in the
current literature.
The red lines in Fig. 10(a) divided the fracture surface into ductile and
fatigue fracture zones, which indicated an elliptical crack front. As the maxi-

13
Fig. 9. Fretting on the faying surface influenced by the fatigue load:
(a)Smax = 100 MPa; (b)Smax = 120 MPa; (c)Smax = 140 MPa.

mum bending stress appeared on the faying surface, the fatigue crack became
much longer on the faying surface than on the free surface. Comparison of
the crack lengths on the fracture surfaces could approximately indicate the
influence of the squeeze force and fatigue load on the fatigue lives because
a longer fatigue crack corresponds to a longer fatigue life. Nevertheless, we
must note that currently, the clamping method of the specimen on the fa-
tigue test machine could not avoid in-plane bending, and inherent flaws could
exist in the material. Therefore, the fatigue crack might evidently show a
difference in the length at the two sides of the hole.
The initial fit tolerance investigated in the present study showed no dis-
tinct influence on the fretting characteristics of the faying surface compared
with that of the different squeeze forces previously discussed. Except at the
hole surface, an analysis of the crack nucleation revealed that for different
types of initial-fit conditions and different levels of fatigue loading, the cor-
ner underneath the driven rivet head was always the crack-initiation site.
Furthermore, a comparison with the initial interference fit revealed that the
cracks were more likely to penetrate through the thickness of the sheet under
a lower fatigue load, e.g., Smax = 100 MPa, in the specimens with an initial

14
Fig. 10. Overview of the fracture surface of the failed specimen concerning
the influence of fatigue load and squeeze force: (a)Fsq = 10.2 kN; (b)Fsq = 14
kN; (c)Fsq = 18 kN.

clearance fit.

4.2. Fatigue life characteristics

The Basquin equation of the S-N curves, which is expressed as

LogSa = a + b · Log2N (4)

was employed to analyze the trend of the variation in the fatigue life with
respect to the influence of the design parameters. Fig. 12 shows the result
influenced by the squeeze force in the specimens with an initial clearance
fit. Accordingly, the curve-fitting results are listed in Table 2. Fig. 12
shows the scattered fatigue lives of the specimens even under strictly the
same design parameters, which made precise study of the fatigue problems

15
Fig. 11. A microscopic view of the fracture surface: (a)Fsq = 10.2 kN,
Smax = 140 MPa; (b)Fsq = 14 kN, Smax = 120 MPa; (c)Fsq = 18 kN,
Smax = 120 MPa.

difficult. Among the five groups of specimens corresponding to five squeeze

forces, the smallest value of R2 and the largest value of the sum of squares
due to error (SSE) in Table 2 indicate the largest scattering of fatigue lives
in the A1 group specimens at Fsq = 10.2 kN, whereas for a higher value of
the squeeze force, e.g., Fsq = 18 kN, the S-N curve exhibited much better
goodness of fit according to R2 and SSE. This phenomenon implied that the
strengthening effect with the increase in the squeeze force could gradually
take over the influence of the imperfections that inherently existed in the
materials. With respect to parameters a and b of these curves, a larger
value of a indicated a larger fatigue strength coefficient, and a larger value
of b implied that the change in the fatigue-load amplitude had a greater
influence on the fatigue-life variation.
More importantly, the immediate conclusion that can be drawn from Fig.
12 is that the fatigue life increased by decreasing fatigue load Smax . The S-N
curves shown in Fig. 12 accounted for not only the material property of Al
2024-T3 but also the influence of the structure design as a lap joint resulting
from the different riveting forces. Therefore, these curves implied different
meanings that demonstrated the different values of parameters a and b for

16
 1.85 Fsq=10.2 kN
Fsq=11.6 kN
1.8 Fsq=14 kN
Fsq=15.8 kN
1.75
Log Sa

Fsq=18 kN
fit(Fsq=10.2 kN)
1.7
fit(Fsq=11.6 kN)
fit(Fsq=14 kN)
1.65
fit(Fsq=15.8 kN)

1.6 fit(Fsq=18 kN)

4.4 4.6 4.8 5 5.2 5.4 5.6

Log 2N

Fig. 12. S-N curves based on Eq. (4) for different squeeze forces.
Table 2. Basquin curve fitting results for Fig. 12.

Fsq [kN] a b R2 SSE

10.2 2.57 -0.1729 0.8413 0.0103
11.6 2.72 -0.1999 0.8914 0.0074
14.0 2.70 -0.1944 0.8958 0.0068
15.8 2.69 -0.1885 0.8916 0.0070
18.0 2.57 -0.1638 0.9365 0.0041

different design variables compared with the common standard S-N curves
of Al 2024-T3. Consequently, the lines in Fig. 12 could cross one another,
which could reveal that the fatigue-life change patterns could be different
relative to the effect of the squeeze force under different levels of fatigue
load, e.g., when Smax = 100 MPa (Log Sa ≈ 1.65), the longest fatigue life
would occur at Fsq = 18 kN. On the other hand, when Smax = 140 MPa (Log
Sa ≈ 1.8), Fsq = 15.8 kN may result in the longest fatigue life of a specimen.
For a clearer expression of the influence of the squeeze-force variation
on the change in the fatigue life, the average fatigue lives of the specimens
subjected to the same squeeze forces at different levels of fatigue load are
shown in Fig. 13. This figure clearly shows the different trends under different
fatigue loads. The fatigue lives of the tested specimens changed with the
increase in the squeeze force. When Smax = 100 MPa, 120 MPa, 130 MPa

17
 5
10
N (cycles)
Smax=100MPa
Smax=110MPa
Smax=120MPa
Smax=130MPa
Smax=140MPa
4 Smax=150MPa
10
10 12 14 16 18
Fsq [kN]

Fig. 13. Influence of riveting squeeze force on fatigue life variation.

and 140 MPa, the fatigue life generally increased with the increased squeeze
force in the range between 10.2 and 18 kN and achieved a maximum value
at Fsq = 18 kN. The fatigue-property enhancement was particularly obvious
with the increase in the squeeze force when Smax = 100 MPa, resulting in
more than double change in the fatigue life with a maximum value of 190211
cycles at Fsq = 18 kN compared with the minimum value of 77134 cycles at
Fsq = 10.2 kN. In totality, for the six load levels, the Fsq variation from 10.2
to 11.6 kN resulted in a rapid increase in the fatigue life. Thereafter, from
11.6 to 18 kN, the change was relatively flat. A particularly localized drop in
the recorded fatigue life was observed when Fsq ranged from 10.2 to 18 kN.
This phenomenon could not be explained by current theories. To validate
this phenomenon, further statistical study is necessary using large numbers
of specimens. In addition, another finding revealed that by increasing the
squeeze force from 10.2 to 18 kN, the fatigue life could be reduced after a
maximum value has been achieved if the squeeze force is strong by considering
the influence of fatigue load, e.g., when Smax = 110 MPa and 150 MPa.
Therefore, Fig. 13 suggests that to achieve the best interference fitting, the
level of working load must be considered when designing the squeeze force
for fatigue enhancement of riveted lap joints.
Fig. 14 shows the influence of the initial fit tolerance, denoted by κ =
Dhole −Drivet
Dhole
, on the fatigue S-N curves of the riveted specimen, followed by
the Basquin curve fitting parameters listed in Table 3. Comparison of the
R2 and SSE values in Table 2 with those in Table 3 reveals relatively lower

18
 κ=1%
1.85
fit(κ=1%)
κ=0
1.8 fit(κ=0)
κ=−1%
Log Sa
fit(κ=−1%)
1.75

1.7

1.65

4.4 4.6 4.8 5 5.2 5.4

Log 2N

Fig. 14. S-N curves based on Eq. (4) for different initial fit tolerances.
Table 3. Basquin curve fitting results for Fig. 14.

κ [%] a b R2 SSE
-1 2.69 -0.1885 0.8916 0.0070
0 2.69 -0.1873 0.9053 0.0062
1 2.64 -0.1806 0.9138 0.0056

scattering of the fatigue data under different initial-fit conditions than the
change due to the squeeze force. We can observe that the S-N curves showed
little discrepancy, especially at an initial clearance fit (κ = −1%) and initial
transition fit (κ = 0), which implied that changing the initial-fit state exerted
little influence on the joint fatigue property compared with changing the
squeeze force. The lines in Fig. 14 do not cross each other within the
investigated load range, which indicates that under different changes in the
load levels, the initial fit tolerance had the same influence on the change
in the fatigue life. With the increase in κ from an initial clearance fit to
an initial interference fit, the fatigue life first increased and then decreased.
The initial transition fit could correspond to the longest fatigue life of the
specimens, whereas the initial interference fit relatively exhibited the worst
fatigue performance, which could be ascribed to the damage on the hole
surface caused by friction when the rivet was inserted into the hole. The
result suggests that in addition to the optimal riveting force, a small amount
of initial clearance between the hole and rivet must be adopted to fully extend

19
the fatigue life of a structure.

4.3. Decrease in the fatigue life due to high squeeze force

The change in the squeeze force from 10.2 to 18 kN shown in Fig. 13
corresponded to a change in D/D0 between 1.21 and 1.52. The fatigue-
life change patterns with increasing squeeze force Smax = 120 MPa were
validated by the works of Skorupa et al. using 4.8-mm rivets [37]. The
decrease in the fatigue life caused by the high squeeze force was also found
in the work of Muller, who used 2-mm-thick sheets and 4-mm countersunk
rivets in which D/D0 ranged from 1.16 to 1.7 [4]. The study by Chakherlou
et al. of double-shear lap joints indicated that increasing the interference-fit
amount conspicuously improved the fatigue life only when the fatigue load
was smaller, whereas for a higher fatigue load, the fatigue-life improvement
could be overlooked by the increase in the level of interference [38]. Because
the squeeze force is positively correlated with the amount of interference fit,
the work of Chakherlou et al. also validated the findings shown in Fig. 13
in terms of the interference fit.
So far, the academic community has not reached any unanimous conclu-
sions about the mechanism of improving the fatigue life by increasing the
level of interference fit. Frequently, people consider that interference fit can
extend the fatigue life of the lap joint. However, they overlook the effect of
the load level. The residual compressive stress in the tangential direction
near the hole, which reduces the stress concentration around the hole, is
widely accepted and accounts for the fatigue-strengthening effect due to the
interference fit. However, this understanding could not explicate the fatigue
deterioration when the level of interference is increased to a higher range
because the present works demonstrate that both the stress level and area
underneath the rivet head under a compressive stress would increase if D/D0
increases. Muller used the permanent curvature of the overlap to explain the
fatigue deterioration caused by a higher squeeze force because the radius of
the curvature was found to decrease with the increase in the squeeze force [4].
Although the permanent curvature, which he called as “imperfection”, could
be hardly visible, it led to stress concentration in the joint and therefore
affected the fatigue performance. Hao et al. experimentally found that the
fatigue life first increased and then decreased with the increase in the squeeze
force using specimens with round-head rivets. However, they did not provide
any further explanation to their findings [26]. Instead of the compressive
residual stress causing plastic deformation, Zhang et al. proposed a spring

20
analytical model to account for the reduction in the load amplitude in the
net section of the holed sheet [27]. According to the spring model, they
suggested that an interference fit with a certain magnitude only works when
the external load is under a certain value. Overloading would separate the
pin and the hole, thereby nullifying the effect of the interference fit. Fig. 13
shows that although the fatigue life corresponding to Fsq = 18 kN decreased
compared with that at Fsq = 15.8 kN, it was still larger than the fatigue life
at Fsq = 10.2 kN. This result implied that the interference-induced strength-
ening effect did not completely vanish. Therefore, the spring model by Zhang
et al. still failed to account for the presently observed relative fatigue dete-
rioration due to a higher squeeze force.
In fact, with the increase in the riveting squeeze force, not only the mag-
nitude of the final interference fit but also the clamping pressure underneath
the rivet head between the stacked sheets increased. The changed in the
clamping pressure exerted a comprehensive effect on the fretting mechanism
on the faying surface. Because the crack initiation and growth prior to the
occurrence of a visible crack accounted for the major part of the fatigue life
[36], the influence of fretting damage from the different clamping pressure
could be very remarkable. Because the change in the squeeze force resulted
in the variation in the clamping force and the different levels of fatigue load
corresponded to different magnitudes of relative slip during fretting, we sug-
gest that analysis of the fretting characteristics on the faying surface can
provide an explanation on the decrease in the fatigue life caused by a large
squeeze force, especially under higher fatigue loads. The fretting analysis
presented in Section 4.1 may have confirmed this point (c.f. Figs. 8 and 9).
Fig. 15 shows the effect of the contact pressure on the fretting fatigue life
of AA6061 obtained by Naidu and Raman [39]. It can be found that with
the increase in the contact pressure, the fretting fatigue life gradually de-
creased. Although the curves demonstrated localized picking-up, e.g., when
the contact pressure changed from 100 to 150 MPa, this increase was only
notably recognized at a lower cyclic load, e.g., σMax = 169 MPa. Neverthe-
less, the contact pressure on the fretting area due to clamping by riveting
was generally much lower than 100 MPa. Therefore, the increased clamping
force due to a higher riveting force always led to a decrease in the fretting
fatigue life of the riveted lap joint. With regard to the magnitude of the
fatigue load, Jin and Mall suggested that the fatigue life decreased with the
increase in the value of the relative slip within a certain range [40]. The
magnitude of the relative slip displacement was increased by a higher fatigue

21
 Fig. 15. Effect of contact pressure on fretting fatigue life [39].

load. Hence, it could imply that a higher working fatigue load in the lap joint
could weaken the strengthening effect created by the interference fit. There-
fore, it explained the findings of the trend in the changes in the fatigue life
under different levels of fatigue load with the increase in the squeeze force.
In addition, the fatigue-life result depended on the load level, as found by
Chakherlou [38].
In summary, except for the widely discussed residual stress around the
hole introduced by the interference fit, the fretting characteristics in the lap
joint must be considered to account for the fatigue property of Al 2024-T3
in the riveted aircraft lap joints. To fully extend the fatigue life of such
structure, the influence of the working load must be taken into account in
the structure design in terms of production variables and design parameters.

5. Conclusions
Based on an experimental study of the fatigue property of Al2024-T3
in riveted aircraft lap joints influenced by the squeeze force and initial fit
tolerance, the following conclusions can be drawn:

• Although the improved fatigue performance is generally deemed to benefit

from an interference fit, the experimental results show that an initially

22
 oversized rivet might be detrimental probably because inserting an over-
sized rivet into the hole causes damages to the surface of the hole because
of friction between the hole and rivet shank.
• Compared with the initial fit tolerance, the squeeze force shows a more
comprehensive influence in improving the fatigue life of riveted lap joints.
Generally, increasing the squeeze force within an allowable range can ex-
tend the fatigue life. However, a relative decrease in the fatigue life is also
observed at a higher range of squeeze force.
• The pattern in the changes in the fatigue life with increasing squeeze force
depends on the level of fatigue loads. Maximum fatigue life can be achieved
at different squeeze forces if the fatigue load is varied. A higher fatigue
load is likely to weaken the effect of the interference fit.
• Except for the residual stresses that have been widely discussed, which
contribute to the fatigue performance of a fastener hole, the phenomenon
in which the fatigue life can relatively decrease at higher squeeze forces,
especially under a higher magnitude of fatigue loads, can be well explained
in terms of the fretting characteristics on the faying surface due to the
different squeeze forces and load levels.
• As the squeeze force shows a comprehensive influence on the fatigue prop-
erty of riveted lap joints, and it can be precisely controlled during a rivet-
ing process by an automatic riveting machine, the force-controlled riveting
method is strongly suggested prior to the traditional punching method by
a rivet gun or the displacement-controlled method of the riveting tool.
• To fully extend the fatigue life of riveted aircraft lap joints that employ the
aluminum alloy 2024-T3 material, the influence of the working load must
be considered in the structure design in terms of production variables and
design parameters.

Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Na-
tional Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51575273), the Nat-
ural Science Foundation of Guizhou Province (Grant No. 20161065), the
Engineering Research Centres of Guizhou Ordinary Institution of Higher
Education (Grant No. [2018]007) and the Specific Funds for Integrated

23
Military-Civilian Development from Guizhou Institute of Technology (Grant
No. KJZX17-011).

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28
Highlights

• An initial interference fit between the hole and rivet may be detrimental
to the fatigue-life improvement of the joint.
• The squeeze force shows a more comprehensive influence in improving the
fatigue life of riveted lap joints compared with the initial fit tolerance.

• A relative decrease in the fatigue life is observed at a higher range of

squeeze force.
• A higher fatigue load is likely to weaken the effect of the interference fit.
• The relative decrease in fatigue life at higher squeeze forces can be ac-
counted for in terms of the fretting characteristics on the faying surface.

1
Declaration of interests

 The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships
that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

☐The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered
as potential competing interests: