1 Rivets

A rivet is a short cylindrical bar with a head integral to it. The cylindrical portion of the rivet is called shank and lower portion of shank is called tail. Rivets are used to make permanent fastening between the plates in structural work, ship building, bridges, tanks, boiler shells, etc. For making a riveted joint, a hole has to be drilled in the plates to be connected. This reduces the tearing strength of the plates.

The joints produced by riveting are not water tight, their fatigue strength is poor, and protruding rivet heads are undesirable in various applications.

Mild steel and wrought iron are commonly used materials for producing rivet. Copper and aluminium rivets are used where corrosion resistance or light weight is required.