Numerical study and design of Q355 steel T-stubs connected through high-strength ring groove rivets

As an innovative high-strength fastener, ring groove rivet offers superior anti-loosening performance and enables rapid installation, driving its expanding use in civil engineering applications. This increasing utilization has consequently drawn significant research attention to the mechanical behavior of riveted connections. The tensile resistance of Q355 steel T-stubs connected through high-strength ring groove rivets were experimentally studied by the authors in a previously published paper. The results indicate that the current design methods are inadequate for riveted T-stubs. In order to propose a reliable design formula, a numerical study on the assembly of high-strength ring groove rivets under pure tension was conducted in this study. The validated simplified rivet model was subsequently applied to the T-stub finite element (FE) models, and the resulting simulations were verified against experimental data. Subsequently, a parametric study was conducted, and the results were utilized to propose a modified design approach for riveted T-stubs. A reliability analysis was then performed to verify the partial safety factors. The findings demonstrate that the FE models of riveted T-stubs are capable of generating valid results, and that the revised design formulas provide accurate predictions of their tensile resistance.