Which type of stress most commonly causes rivet failure?

Rivet failure is most commonly associated with shear stress because rivets primarily hold components together by resisting forces applied across their shank (the part of the rivet that is inserted into the material). When a shear force is applied, it attempts to slide the connected plates past each other, putting the rivet under shear stress.

Rivets are designed to withstand a certain amount of shear force based on their material and size; however, exceeding this threshold can lead to failure. This shear failure can manifest as the rivet shearing off or losing its integrity due to excessive loads.

While tension, bending, and compression can also affect structural integrity, they typically do not directly cause rivet failure in the same manner as shear. Tension, for instance, affects the parent material and may result in elongation or buckling of the rivet holes before impacting the rivets themselves. Compression may not usually lead to direct failure of a rivet but can affect the entire joint. Bending can introduce complex stresses which are not the primary mechanism of failure for rivets. Thus, shear remains the most critical stress linked to rivet failure.