The strength verification of blind rivet connections can be done acc. to the DIN EN 1993-1-3. Linked to the design equations from this standard are uncertainties in the design. These uncertainties must be eliminated through individual case studies. Furthermore, blind rivets are increasingly being used in constructions that are exposed to cyclical loads. This means that the fatigue strength verification for this type of connection is also coming to the fore. However, there are no normative requirements for this verification. These open questions in the design are to be considered. For this purpose, results from quasi-static and fatigue tests on joints with blind rivets are presented and were used to derive generally valid design rules.
High-strength steels have been the state of the art in many technical areas for years, e.g. in the field of crane construction or the automotive industry and are the subject of further development. This trend is also followed by the field of lightweight steel and steel construction, which experienced an opening of its design rules according to Eurocode 3 by the extension with Part 1-12 (DIN EN 1993-1-12:2010-12, 2010) for steels up to a yield strength of 700 N/mm2. This made it possible to use high-strength steels from then on and thus to advance the idea of lightweight construction. This was also the case, for example, in roof claddings or modern logistics centres with their high rack warehouse systems in Fig. 1. Especially the high rack warehouse systems, which have a fully or partially automated loading traffic, experience fatigue loads in addition to static loads. For this reason, beside a static strength verification, a fatigue strength verification is also required.
Nevertheless, the opening of the design rule and the use of higher-strength steels in such constructions is not always associated to the same extent of increasing load-bearing capacities from the static and fatigue strength verifications. In the static strength verification for connections with blind rivets, there are still limiting boundary conditions that can only be broken through cost- and time-intensive as well as complex case-by-case investigations. Furthermore, also in the fatigue strength verification according to EC3 Part 1-9 (DIN EN 1993-1-9:2010-12, 2010), the increasing material strength and the connection configuration are not yet sufficiently taken into account. Due to the lack of normative design rules, the use of high-strength steels and blind rivets results in open questions for the structural engineer regarding the load-bearing behaviour of the connection and its fatigue resistance. The authors address these questions and give recommendations for the design of such connections.
