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Process optimization of aluminum/steel resistance spot welding based on dynamic resistance analysis

  • Metals & corrosion
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Abstract

Because aluminum and steel have different characteristics, directly joining them one cannot obtain desired Al/steel welded joint. In order to improve the Al/steel resistance spot welding (RSW) process and achieve a goal of obtaining welded joint with satisfactory quality, this work analyzed the process using dynamic resistance variation. A whole Al/steel RSW process can be divided into three stages: no nugget stage, Al nugget stage and Al/steel double nuggets stage, according to different melting times of the parent metal sheets, which can be reflected in the dynamic resistance profile. Two optimization measures, which are increasing the roughness of contact surface between two parent metals and using spherical electrodes to replace traditional planar electrodes, are proposed. A two-dimensional (2D) numerical model was established and the calculation results showed that the optimization measures could increase the sizes of aluminum nugget and enable earlier melting of two metal sheets. In addition, a series of comparative welding experiments were conducted. Corresponding measurement and analysis results showed that the two optimization measures could improve the tensile-shear strength of the Al/steel welded joint, respectively, by 6.35% ~ 35.33% and 11.63% ~ 81.22%, with a corresponding comprehensive percentage improvement in at least 24.41%. Also, the measurers could promote the wetting and spreading level of liquid aluminum on the surface of solid steel, decrease length of cracks at the edge of the welded joint, and decrease intermetallic compound (IMC) layer thickness and make its distribution more even. This work provides information for process improvement and optimization in dissimilar metal welding.

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Data and code availability

The data and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No: 51605103).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechatronical Engineering, Bei**g Institute of Technology, Bei**g, China

    Kang Zhou, Gang Wang, Baokai Ren & Wenxiao Yu

  2. Department of Welding Engineering, Institution of Engineering and Technology, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia

    Mikhail Ivanov

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Contributions

KZ and GW took part in conceptualization, investigation, methodology, formal analysis, visualization preparation, writing the original draft, and writing—reviewing and editing. GW and BKR were responsible for formal analysis, investigation, and reviewing and editing. KZ and WXY carried out formal analysis, acquired the funding and participated in supervision. M IVANOV made many useful suggestions, and reviewed all the manuscript thoroughly. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Kang Zhou.

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Zhou, K., Wang, G., Ren, B. et al. Process optimization of aluminum/steel resistance spot welding based on dynamic resistance analysis. J Mater Sci 58, 17908–17929 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-09157-0

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