Analysis of compliant pins subjected to plastic deformation

An experimental/numerical analysis of two types of compliant pins is presented: dynamic retention pins and cantilever pins. It is shown that there is a trade off between the performances of both types of pins. For the same range of retention force, the cantilever pin, with a smaller stiffness, is more forgiving and gives a broader range of deflection. The dynamic retention pin is shown to be more reliable with time and replacement frequency, since it exhibits less plastic deformation for the same range of retention force.