Spot welding

About: Spot welding is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 12491 publications have been published within this topic receiving 89845 citations. The topic is also known as: Spot_welding.

Statistical modeling and optimization of resistance spot welding process parameters using neural networks and multi-objective genetic algorithm

Abstract: Resistance spot welding (RSW) is a highly used joining procedure in automotive industry. In RSW, after a number of welds the welding electrode starts to wear and its diameter changes. This causes the weld nugget diameter abnormal variations and consequently reduces the weld strength. Therefore the tip of the electrode should be dressed in RSW. Selecting the optimum time for the welding electrode tip dressing operations is very important. In this research three welding parameters including the welding time, the welding current, and the welding pressure were identified as the main effective parameters on the weld nugget dimensions including the weld nugget diameter and height using full factorial design of experiments. Then using hybrid combination of the artificial neural networks and multi-objective genetic algorithm, the optimized values of the aforementioned parameters were specified. Finally experiments were fulfilled to estimate the admissible number of the weld spots which should be done before the electrode tip dressing operation.

Effect of Interfacial Reaction on the Mechanical Performance of Steel to Aluminum Dissimilar Ultrasonic Spot Welds

Abstract: The early stages of formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC) have been investigated in dissimilar aluminum to steel welds, manufactured by high power (2.5 kW) ultrasonic spot welding (USW). To better understand the influence of alloy composition, welds were produced between a low-carbon steel (DC04) and two different aluminum alloys (6111 and 7055). The joint strengths were measured in lap shear tests and the formation and growth behavior of IMCs at the weld interface were characterized by electron microscopy, for welding times from 0.2 to 2.4 seconds. With the material combinations studied, the η (Fe2Al5) intermetallic phase was found to form first, very rapidly in the initial stage of welding, with a discontinuous island morphology. Continuous layers of η and then θ (FeAl3) phase were subsequently seen to develop on extending the welding time to greater than 0.7 second. The IMC layer formed in the DC04-AA7055 combination grew thicker than for the DC04-AA6111 welds, despite both weld sets having near identical thermal histories. Zinc was also found to be dissolved in the IMC phases when welding with the AA7055 alloy. After post-weld aging of the aluminum alloy, fracture in the lap shear tests always occurred along the joint interface; however, the DC04-AA6111 welds had higher fracture energy than the DC04-AA7055 combination.

A comparative study of single-phase AC and multiphase DC resistance spot welding

Abstract: This paper presents a comparative study of the AC and MFDC resistance spot welding process. Both experiments and finite element simulation were conducted to compare the weld size and energy consumption. The experiments were performed on two identical spot welding machines, one with a single phase ac and the other with a mid-frequency DC weld control. The machines were instrumented such that both the primary and secondary voltage and current signals could be collected for energy calculation. The finite element simulation model was developed to understand the underlying mechanisms of the difference between the ac and MFDC processes. The effect of the current waveform was investigated by using the actual process measurements as an input to the simulation model. It is shown that the MFDC process generally produces larger welds than the AC process with the same root-mean-square welding current. However, this difference is more prominent when the welding current is relatively low. Overall, the AC welding process consumes more energy to make a same sized weld than the MFDC process. The larger the welding current is used, the less efficient the AC welding process will become. The differences between the two welding processes are caused by the contact resistance behavior and the electrical inductance in the AC welding process.