Due to the demand of lightweight body in recent years, aluminium alloy structures and mixed-material structures are the development trend of body design and manufacture, and the problem of structure connection is also facing great challenges. Self-piercing riveting (SPR) is a cold mechanical joining process used to join two or more sheets of metal and nonmetallic materials by forming a mechanical interlock structure through rivet and sheet. Compared with other conventional joining methods, SPR has many advantages including no pre-drilled holes required, environmentally-friendly connection process, and the ability to join dissimilar sheets and nonmetallic sheets. At the same time, the joint has better sealing and mechanical properties. As a new type of joining method employs the connection of lightweight structure, SPR has been developed rapidly in recent years because of its unique advantages. Fatigue performance is a key index of engineering application of joint. The substrate materials studied are mainly used aluminum alloy and high strength steel. In recent years, the fatigue properties of SPR joints of titanium alloy and fiber reinforced composites have also been studied. There are many factors affecting the fatigue performance of SPR joint. The method of improving the fatigue performance of SPR joint and the fatigue failure mechanism of the joint have always been the focus of the researchers. The factors that affect the fatigue performance of SPR joint include riveting process, substrate parameters, rivet distribution, joint lap form, fatigue loading parameters, test temperature and adding adhesive. A large number of researches mainly focus on the factors of riveting process, substrate parameters and rivet distribution. The results illustrate that the fatigue performance of the joint can be improved by using the high strength sheet as the lower sheet, increasing the thickness of the sheet and using the domed head rivet with high hardness. The increase of the number of rivets can significantly improve the fatigue performance of the joint, and the fatigue properties of the joints are affected by the distribution and edge distance of rivets. SPR joint existence the residual stress and fretting wear is the main cause of fatigue failure of mechanical connection. Stress annealing can improve the fatigue performance of the joint under high fatigue load. Adding lubricant coating on substrate sheet can also improve the fatigue performance of the joint. In addition, the adhesive bonded-SPR hybrid joints are widely used in body connection. Adhesive can reduce the stress concentration of joints and improve its fatigue properties. The fatigue test is time-consuming and high cost test. The factors affecting fatigue performance of SPR joint can be the reference for further research and engineering application. This review offers a retrospection of the research efforts with respect to the factors affecting the fatigue properties of SPR joint and summarizes the methods to improve the fatigue properties of joint, besides, the research direction of SPR is analyzed and prospected. © 2019, Materials Review Magazine. All right reserved.
