Simulating fretting contact in single lap splices

Cracks in riveted lap splices commonly nucleate in regions of fretting damage around the fastener holes. The crack location is dependent upon the rivet squeeze force and the clamped faying surface area around the holes since fretting damage occurs at the edge of contact. Being able to predict the amount of faying surface clamping from rivet forming and the peaks in edge-of-contact stresses associated with fretting contact will help in the understanding of splice fatigue failure. This paper describes the development of a 3D finite element splice model that predicts the variation of contact area and edge-of-contact stresses in a loaded splice. The prediction is made for four rivet squeeze force levels and both universal and countersunk rivet styles.