Fatigue Strength Evaluation of Mechanical Press Joints of Cold Rolled Steel Sheet under Cross-Tension Loading

Abstract

In this study, for the evaluation of the static and fatigue joining strength of the joint, the geometry of the cross-tension specimen was adopted. The specimens were produced with optimal joining force and fatigue life of the clinch joint specimens was evaluated. The material selected for use in this study was cold rolled mild steel (SPCC) with a thickness of 0.8 mm. The maximum tensile load was 708 N for the specimen with single point. The fatigue endurance limit (=42.6 N) per point approached to 6% of the maximum tensile strength at a load ratio of 0.1, suggesting that the joints are vulnerable to cross-tension loading during fatigue. Compared to equivalent stress and maximum principal stress, the SWT fatigue parameter and equivalent strain can properly predict the current experimental fatigue life. The SWT parameter can be expressed as       .