Comparison Between Automatic and Hand Riveted 6013 AeroLock Rivets 952168

A new rivet called “Aerolock” has recently been introduced at Canadair. This new rivet, originally developed by Lockheed, incorporates a design that provides controlled expansion thus achieving superior hole fill characteristics compared to standard rivets. The controlled expansion of these rivets makes them more adaptable to percussion type installation methods, both manual and automated systems, compared to standard MS 20426 type rivets.

The most significant benefit of the controlled expansion is the fatigue life improvement that it provides by imparting hoop compression stresses around the rivet hole. The fatigue life of Aerolock rivets is not dependent upon the fastening method. Both squeezing and percussion type methods provide substantially higher fatigue lives (up to 10 times) compared to standard rivets.

Several different material types were compared and Aerolock 6013 aluminum alloy rivets showed the greatest fatigue life improvement. 6013 aluminum alloy rivets have the added benefits that they have a lower density than other aluminum alloy rivets, thus saving weight; better formability; and the elimination of the need for in-house heat treating and cold storage when compared with 2024 rivets at the same strength level. Further fatigue testing of corroded specimens was also conducted because of the concerns of the effects of intergranular and pitting corrosion on the fatigue life of riveted joints. Results show that the corrosion did not reduce the fatigue life of the riveted joints. The corrosion study also did not reveal any significant difference in the corrosion resistance between 6013 aluminum alloy and the other rivet materials.