But not strong enough not to start making smoke only after about 50 hours and 5 months!!!
Strength has nothing to do with that, assuming it IS a proper (MS/NAS) mechanical locking (blind) rivet (thus my question). What you have is from improper installation - poor hole drilling (wrong size or elongated) and/or improper rivet size selection. This is more critical to a mechanical locking rivet than a crush rivet, as a crush rivet can "swell" more to fully fill a hole that might not be quite "right". Full engagement is
critical to a rivet of any kind. Sooner or later, you get a smoker if it is not. I suggest they try again on that one, with better technique.
We use 3 kinds of blind rivets here on the F-2 as both primary and repair fasteners. And you wouldn't believe how anal they are about drilling holes (our customer is VERY fussy, much more than the USAF, so much more that we set the standard for all of Lockheed production programs). I get Quality Assurance Reports (to sign-off on the fixes) on hole elongations of 0.005 in., where we step up to the next oversize repair fastener or even the next full size (an elongation can mean the hole axis is not perpendicular to the surface).
