Many of older steel bridges with rivets have historical value due to their appearance. Repairing damaged rivets with new rivets is desirable from both mechanical and landscape perspectives; however, this repairing method is not being actively adopted at present due to constructability issues. Although a smaller rivet flange allows rivets to be formed with smaller loads, it is not known how much axial force is introduced into rivets. The mechanism to introduce axial force in the rivet due to cooling process is also unknown. In this study, the mechanism of introduction of axial force into the rivet during cooling process and the relationship between the axial force and rivet flange size were analytically investigated.
