Technical Paper
Airplane Wing Structure Fatigue Life: Impact of Misaligned Lower Rivet Dies
2002-10-01
2002-01-2648
Automated hydraulic equipment is used at Boeing to install index head 7050 aluminum alloy rivets for assembly of upper and lower wing skins to stringers. Rivet installations are fatigue and fluid tight critical. It has been shown that the capability of the machinery to maintain alignment of the rivet upset tooling is critical in meeting engineering fatigue requirements. This report studies the impact to wing structure fatigue life caused by misalignment of the lower rivet dies and resultant damage to the driven button of installed 7050 aluminum rivets.
