Joint strength of GFRP / A6061 Al alloy joint made by punching rivet method

To reduce weigh of the transportation machines, joining of the FRP and the light metal is considered as important technique. In this study, the punching rivet method was applied to make joints between a GFRP sheet and an aluminum alloy A6061 sheet and joint strength was examined. The punching rivet method is possible to join the sheets without drilling by using a rivet and a rivet holder. The punching-out process of the sheets using a rivet shank as a punch and the joining process of the sheets using the rivet and the rivet holder are continuously performed. From the experimental results of joining of the GFRP sheet and the A6061 sheet, the joints made by the punching rivet method had no large crack and out-of-plane deformation of the joints was suppressed. From the results of the joint strength tests, the joints made by the punching rivet method had almost the same joint strength as the bolted joints which were tightened by regulated torque. In addition, the fatigue life of the joints made by the punching rivet method was longer than that of bolted joints. It could be confirmed that the punching rivet method was effective to join the GFRP sheet and the A6061 sheet.