Evaluation of quality and behaviour of self-piercing riveted aluminium to high strength low alloy sheets with different surface coatings

A study examining the effect of coatings on the quality and behaviour of self-piercing riveted joints between aluminium and steel sheets was conducted. NG5754 and AA5182 aluminium and high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel were used for this investigation. Two types of coatings, E-coat and zinc plate were applied to the HSLA steel and AA5182 aluminium sheets. The results showed that the presence of a coating on the surface of HSLA and AA5182 affected the joint quality in terms of head height, interlock distance and remaining material thickness. Examination of joint sections indicated that the self-piercing riveting process needed different setting parameters for coated and uncoated sheets in order to achieve optimum setting conditions. The study has also shown that both the E-coat and zinc plate coatings affected the joint strength and the failure mechanism under static loading conditions.