Friction rivet joining towards high-performance wood-metal hybrid structures

Friction rivet joining was proposed to replace toxic aldehyde-based adhesives for the joining of wood-metal hybrid structures towards high mechanical performances. Polymer rivets were utilized for superior mechanical performances. Three biphasic interfaces among woods, metals, and polymers were achieved reliably with mechanical interlocking and chemical bonding. Polymer films at the interface between metals and woods were obtained by the squeezing flow of polymer rivets, which provided an alternative approach to achieving the effective bonding indirectly. The tensile shear strength and pull-out strength of the wood-metal hybrid structures reached 36.03 ± 0.91 and 30.32 ± 0.79 MPa, respectively, and the specially-designed joint form was proved to be substantially immune to humidity without external protection and improve the load-bearing performances. A finite element model with wider range of geometric parameters was proposed to illustrate the general structural response. The result indicates that friction rivet joining has the potential to join adhesive-free wood-metal hybrid structures with high performances.