Experimental investigation on resistance spot welding of dissimilar weld joints

A comparative study on microstructural and mechanical behaviour of spot welded Ti-6Al-4V alloy in as-welded and solution treated condition

Abstract: The current experimentation emphasises on the diversification in metallurgical transformation under solution treatment, which governs the solidification rate and can trigger the final mechanical be...

Failure mode transition in AHSS resistance spot welds. Part I. Controlling factors

Abstract: Failure mode of resistance spot welds is a qualitative indicator of weld performance. Two major types of spot weld failure are pull-out and interfacial fracture. Interfacial failure, which typically results in reduced energy absorption capability, is considered unsatisfactory and industry standards are often designed to avoid this occurrence. Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) spot welds exhibit high tendency to fail in interfacial failure mode. Sizing of spot welds based on the conventional recommendation of 4t0.5 (t is sheet thickness) does not guarantee the pullout failure mode in many cases of AHSS spot welds. Therefore, a new weld quality criterion should be found for AHSS resistance spot welds to guarantee pull-out failure. The aim of this paper is to investigate and analyze the transition between interfacial and pull-out failure modes in AHSS resistance spot welds during the tensile–shear test by the use of analytical approach. In this work, in the light of failure mechanism, a simple analytical model is presented for estimating the critical fusion zone size to prevent interfacial fracture. According to this model, the hardness ratio of fusion zone to pull-out failure location and the volume fraction of voids in fusion zone are the key metallurgical factors governing type of failure mode of AHSS spot welds during the tensile–shear test. Low hardness ratio and high susceptibility to form shrinkage voids in the case of AHSS spot welds appear to be the two primary causes for their high tendency to fail in interfacial mode.

Modeling of resistance spot weld nugget growth

Abstract: The weld nugget in resistance spot welding of Type 347 stainless steel was found, using f inite element methods, to initiate in a ring shape at a distance from the electrode center. The ring-like weld nugget expands inward and outward during the welding cycles. The welding current, electrode pressure and hold time affected the thermomechanical interactions of the welding process and changed the f inal nugget geometry. Also, when spot welding workpieces of unequal thicknesses, it was found that the weld nugget formed mostly in the thicker workpiece than in the thinner workpiece, and when spot welding dissimilar materials, the weld nugget formed more in the workpiece of lower thermal conductivity or higher electrical resistivity.

Failure mode transition in AHSS resistance spot welds. Part II: Experimental investigation and model validation

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to investigate and analyze the transition criteria from interfacial to pullout failure mode in AHSS resistance spot welds during the tensile-shear test by the use of both experimental and analytical approaches. Spot welds were made on three dual phase steel grades including DP600, DP780 and DP980. A low strength drawing quality special killed (DQSK) steel and AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel were also tested as a baseline for comparison. The microstructure and mechanical strength of the welds were characterized using metallographic techniques and the tensile-shear testing. Correlations among critical fusion zone (FZ) size required to ensure the pullout failure mode, weld microstructure and weld hardness characteristics were developed. It was found that critical FZ size increases in the order of DQSK, DP600, DP980, DP780 and AISI304. No direct relationship was found between the tensile strength of the base metal and the critical FZ size. It was concluded that low hardness ratio of FZ to pullout failure location and high susceptibility to form shrinkage voids are two primary reasons for high tendency of AHSS to fail in interfacial mode. HAZ softening can improve RSW mechanical performance in terms of load bearing capacity and energy absorption capability. This phenomenon promotes PF mode at smaller FZ sizes. This fact can explain smaller critical FZ size measured for DP980 in comparison with DP780. The results obtained from the model were compared to the experimental results and the literature and a reasonable agreement was obtained.

Numerical and experimental study of nugget size growth in resistance spot welding of austenitic stainless steels

Abstract: A 2D axisymmetric electro-thermo-mechanical finite element (FE) model is developed to study the effect of welding time and current intensity on nugget size in resistance spot welding process of AISI type 304L austenitic stainless steel sheets using ANSYS commercial software package. In order to improve the accuracy, temperature-dependent properties of materials are taken into account during the simulation. The diameter and thickness of computed weld nuggets are compared with experimental results. The FE predicted weld nugget growth and nugget size agree well with experimental results. The effects of welding time and current intensity on nugget growth are also studied. Generally, increasing welding time and current is accompanied by an increase in the fusion zone size with a decreasing slope. However if expulsion occurs, nugget size reduces due to melt spattering. Except for an initial nugget formation stage, welding time has minor effect on nugget size in comparison with welding current.

An experimental study determines the electrical contact resistance in resistance welding

Abstract: Electrical contact resistance is of critical importance in resistance welding. In this article, the contact resistance is experimentally investigated for welding mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum to themselves. A parametric study was carried out on a Gleeble® machine, investigating the influence on the contact resistance of interface normal pressure, temperature, and base metal.