Spot welding, particularly resistance spot welding (RSW), is a critical joining process in automotive industry. The development of advanced high strength steels for applications in automotive industry is accompanied with a challenge to better understand the physical and mechanical metallurgy of these materials during RSW. The present paper critically reviews the fundamental understanding of structure–properties relationship in automotive steels resistance spot welds. The focus is on the metallurgical characteristics, hardness–microstructure correlation, interfacial to pullout failure mode transition and mechanical performance of steel resistance spot welds under quasi-static, fatigue and impact loading conditions. A brief review of friction stir spot welding, as an alternative to RSW, is also included.

Critical review of automotive steels spot welding: process, structure and properties

The major scientific and technological advances and breakthroughs of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) were achieved due to the strong demands of automotive industry. The development of AHSS began in the early 1980s with the aim of improving passenger safety and weight-saving. The present paper presents the driving forces and logic of development of various AHSS for automotive applications since 1980s. The importance of crash performance, weight-saving, formability, and rigidity are critically reviewed for the development of new steel grades for automotive applications. The logical sequences of the development of dual phase (DP) steel, transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels, tempered DP steels, complex phases (CP) steels, Ferrite-Bainite steels, hot-stamping technology, twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) steels, Quench and Partitioning (Q&P) steels, Medium Mn steels, and steels–polymer composites are presented.

Driving Force and Logic of Development of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications

A model for the microstructure behaviour and strength evolution in lath martensite

https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-advanced-materials-joining/sites/ca.centre-advanced-materials-joining/files/uploads/files/materlett-2010_baltazar.pdf

Nanoindentation and microstructure analysis of resistance spot welded dual phase steel

https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-advanced-materials-joining/sites/ca.centre-advanced-materials-joining/files/uploads/files/xu_2013_mat.pdf

Tensile and fatigue properties of fiber laser welded high strength low alloy and DP980 dual-phase steel joints

The isothermal and nonisothermal tempering of martensite in dual-phase (DP) steels was investigated mainly by analytical transmission electron microscopy, and the effect on softening behavior was studied. The isothermal tempering resulted in coarsening and spheroidization of cementite and complete recovery of laths. However, nonisothermal tempering manifested fine quasi-spherical intralath and platelike interlath cementite, decomposition of retained austenite, and partial recovery of laths. The distinct characteristic of nonisothermal tempering was primarily attributed to the synergistic effect of delay in cementite precipitation and insufficient time for diffusion of carbon due to rapid heating that delays the third stage of tempering. The finer size and platelike morphology of cementite coupled with partial recovery of lath resulted in reduced softening in nonisothermal tempering compared to severe softening in isothermal tempering due to large spheroidized cementite and complete recovery of lath substructure. The substitutional content of precipitated cementite in nonisothermal tempering was correlated to the richness of particular steel chemistry. Softening resistance during nonisothermal tempering was related to DP steel chemistry, i.e., Cr and Mn content. Fine cementite and less decomposed martensite in rich chemistry confer high resistance to softening compared to leaner chemistries, which indicated severe decomposition of martensite with coarser cementite.

Tempering of Martensite in Dual-Phase Steels and Its Effects on Softening Behavior

Currently, advances due to tailored blanking can be enhanced by the development of new grades of advanced high-strength steels (HSSs), for the further weight reduction and structural improvement of automotive components. In the present work, diode laser welds of three different grades of advanced high-strength dual-phase (DP) steel sheets (with tensile strengths of 980, 800, and 450 MPa) to high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) material were fabricated by applying the proper welding parameters. Formability in terms of Hecker’s limiting dome height (LDH), the strain distribution on the hemispherical dome surface, the weld line movement during deformation, and the load-bearing capacity during the stretch forming of these different laser-welded blanks were compared. Finite element (FE) analysis of the LDH tests of both the parent metals and laser-welded blanks was done using the commercially available software package LS-DYNA (Livermore Software Technology Corporation, Livermore, CA); the results compared well with the experimental data. It was also found that the LDH was not affected by the soft zone or weld zone properties; it decreased, however, with an increase in a nondimensional parameter, the “strength ratio” (SR). The weld line movement during stretch forming is an indication of nonuniform deformation resulting in a decrease in the LDH. In all the dissimilar weldments, fracture took place on the HSLA side, but the fracture location shifted to near the weld line (at the pole) in tailor-welded blanks (TWBs) of a higher strength ratio.

Formability Analysis of Diode-Laser-Welded Tailored Blanks of Advanced High-Strength Steel Sheets

Fusion zone of three TRIP steels, categorized as AT: C–Mn–Al, AST: C–Mn–Al–Si and ST: C–Mn–Si, in resistance spot welding was characterized with respect to microstructure, phase analysis, and hardness. The fusion zone microstructure was found to depend on chemistry: (i) AT steel contained ferrite phase surrounded by bainite and martensite regions, (ii) AST steel showed a bainite structures along with martensite laths and interlath retained austenite, whereas (iii) ST steel constituted single phase martensite laths with interlath austenite. X-ray diffraction study indicated that retained austenite fraction in the fusion zone increases with increase in Si content in it. The AST fusion zone hardness lies between those of the AT and ST steels; the ST fusion zone hardness was higher than that of AT steel because of the single phase martensite microstructure. Comparison of fusion zone microstructure and hardness to earlier study on laser welding of the TRIP steels with similar chemistries revealed that higher cooling rate in resistance spot welding led to higher fusion zone hardness compared to laser welding; which was attributed either to decrease in softer ferrite phase (AT steel) in the microstructure or refinement of martensite laths (ST steel).

Microstructure–hardness relationship in the fusion zone of TRIP steel welds

In sequel to our recent report,[1] we demonstrate in this article the effect of chemistry on nonisothermal tempering and softening behavior of dual-phase steels. The martensite morphology and tempered structure were analyzed using electron microscopy. Electron energy loss spectrometry and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used for a compositional analysis. It was observed that characteristic of the tempered structure in dual-phase (DP) steels was a function of prior martensite structure and chemistry, which in turn influence the extent of softening.

V. H. Baltazar Hernandez

Papers

Tempering of Martensite in Dual-Phase Steels and Its Effects on Softening Behavior

Nanoindentation and microstructure analysis of resistance spot welded dual phase steel

Formability Analysis of Diode-Laser-Welded Tailored Blanks of Advanced High-Strength Steel Sheets

Microstructure–hardness relationship in the fusion zone of TRIP steel welds

Effect of Chemistry on Nonisothermal Tempering and Softening of Dual-Phase Steels