What factor is not considered when determining minimum rivet spacing?

When determining minimum rivet spacing, one must take into account several critical factors that influence the joint's strength and integrity. Rivet diameter, material thickness, and the type of loading all play significant roles in ensuring that the riveted connection can withstand the intended loads without failure or deformation.

Rivet diameter is essential because larger rivets typically require greater spacing to accommodate their size and to avoid weakening the surrounding material. Material thickness influences the spacing as well; thicker materials can often accommodate closer spacing due to increased strength and the ability to handle the stress concentrations around the rivet holes.

The type of loading, whether it be shear, tensile, or a combination of forces, dictates how the rivets will perform under service conditions and therefore affects the necessary spacing to ensure that the joint can effectively transfer loads without failure.

In contrast, rivet length is not a consideration for minimum rivet spacing. While rivet length is crucial for ensuring that the rivet fully engages both parts of the material being joined, it does not directly affect the spacing between rivets. Length is primarily concerned with the joint’s overall effectiveness and structural integrity but does not impose limits on how close rivets can be placed to one another. Hence, rivet length is the factor that is