A commonly used tool for aircraft fuselage structural maintenance task
is a pneumatic rivet gun due to it’s simply mechanism, portability, and
adaptation to various structural geometries. However, characteristics of
this riveting procedure- such as impact duration, air-pressure control, and impact accelerations of this highly deformed process, are not yet understood systematically. Those factors dominate the mechanical joint strength of the structure, as a result, a systematic investigation on these parameters through a quantitative experimental is designed and evaluated. The impact accelerations from an accelerometer are transferred and analyzed statistically, and a Go/No-go rule on riveting procedure is established accordingly. This real-in-time monitoring system provides a more reliable methodology than a traditional ergonomic judgment to evaluate the quality of riveting jobs. By monitoring three riveting quality indexes (RQI) on thirty-five MS20470-5-6 AD protruding head rivets, 91.43% (32/35) of riveting works can be recognized as “qualified rivets”, and 8.57% (3/35) is regarded as “false rivets” that require further inspection/ confirmation by on-line operator.