Investigation of local heat treatment strategies for a multi-range capable rivet and the influence on joint formation and load-bearing capacity

To reduce CO₂ emissions, the industry, particularly in the mobility sector, focuses on lightweight vehicles with multi-material structures. As thermal joining processes are reaching their limits, mechanical techniques such as self-piercing riveting are being used. One innovative solution is the versatile self-piercing riveting process (V-SPR), which combines different material combinations with a multi-range rivet. ¹ The joining process is divided into the piercing process and the forming process of the rivet head to the respective sheet thickness. The rivet shaft requires sufficient strength to punch through the punch-sided sheet, and sufficient ductility of the rivet head is required to form onto the punch-sided sheet. To achieve a combination of these requirements, local inductive heat treatment strategies are used for the rivet. To ensure reproducible rivet hardening, a specialised device has been developed for precise rivet positioning in the induction coil and the subsequent quenching process. The heat treatment differs in terms of hardening times and temperatures. In addition, the heat treatment is combined with a subsequent tempering process. The study aims to determine the resulting hardness distributions and microstructures of the rivet and to investigate the influence of different heat treatment strategies on joint formation and load-bearing capacities. The results show that a graded hardening profile has a positive effect on the spreading behaviour of the rivet foot and the forming behaviour of the rivet head. Furthermore, the load-bearing behaviour of the joints is increased.