Professional Documents
Culture Documents
+ Deformation Behaviour of Spot-Welded High Strength Steels For Automotive Applications PDF
+ Deformation Behaviour of Spot-Welded High Strength Steels For Automotive Applications PDF
revisar DMW y SMW (los mensionan en todo el texto y leer sobre prueba de tensión por
cizallamiento
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
herramienta prinicipal
Article history: Numerical simulation of component and assembly behaviour under different loading conditions is a main
Received 25 March 2010 tool for safety design in automobile body shell mass production. Knowledge of local material behaviour
Received in revised form 21 July 2010 is fundamental to such simulation tests. As a contribution to the verification of simulation results, the
Accepted 28 July 2010
local deformation properties of spot-welded similar and dissimilar material joints in shear tension tests
were investigated in this study for a TRIP steel (HCT690T) and a micro-alloyed steel (HX340LAD). For
this reason, the local strain distribution was calculated by the digital image correlation technique (DIC).
Keywords:
On the basis of the hardness values and microstructure of the spot welds, the differences in local strain
Resistance spot welding
Deformation behaviour
between the selected material combinations are discussed. Additionally, the retained austenite content
Advanced high strength steel in the TRIP steel was analysed to explain the local strain values. Results obtained in this study regarding
TRIP steel similar material welds suggest significant lower local strain values of the TRIP steel HCT690T compared
Similar and dissimilar material spot weld to HX340LAD. One reason could be the decrease of retained austenite in the welded area. Furthermore,
EBSD
cerciorado
it has been ascertained that the local strain in dissimilar material welds decreases for each component
SEM compared with the corresponding similar material weld.
Strain field © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
0921-5093/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.msea.2010.07.091
7100 S. Brauser et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7099–7108
Fig. 1. FE-simulation of local strain behaviour of spot-welded shear tension samples via [6].
Table 1
Mechanical properties and an extract of the chemical composition of the base materials, measured via tensile test and Emission Spectrometry.
Steel grade Yield strength (MPa) Tensile strength (MPa) A (%) Alloying elements (wt%)
C Mn Cr Al Si Fe CE
HX340LAD 370 450 32 0.09 0.78 0.051 0.04 0.15 Balance 0.24
HCT690T 420 750 30 0.19 1.70 0.027 1.33 0.077 Balance 0.48
S. Brauser et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7099–7108 7101
Table 2
Welding parameters.
Material Electrode force (kN) Welding current (kA) Welding time in cycles Pre/post holding time in cycles
Fig. 4. Schematic overview of strain field measurement with stochastically patterned shear tension specimen.
7102 S. Brauser et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7099–7108
Fig. 5. Similar and dissimilar material spot-welded cross-sections, (a) HX340LAD, (b) HX340LAD/HCT690T, (c) HCT690T.
Fig. 6. Hardness profiles for similar and dissimilar material spot welds with schematic location of the indentations, (a) HX340LAD, (b) HX340LAD/HCT690T and (c) HCT690T.
Fig. 7. Shear tension test results, (a) load–displacement curves, (b) Failure load depending on base metal combination.
S. Brauser et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7099–7108 7103
Fig. 8. Local strain εx on front and back side of the specimens during shear tension test for (a) HX340LAD, (b) HCT690T and (c) HX340LAD/HCT690T.
mayor
3. Results and discussion in the case of plug failure where the HAZ strength is of main
importance to the shear tension strength of the weld, the DMW
3.1. Microstructure and hardness distribution performance is expected to be similar to that of the SMW of
HX340LAD, based on the assumption that the fracture happens in
Weld cross-sections of the tested steel combinations are shown the weakest part of the weld.
in Fig. 5. The three different regions, i.e. base metal (BM), heat However, concerning the weld nugget, a deviation in hardness
Etiquetado Que se encuentra entre
affected zone (HAZ) and fusion zone (FZ) are labelled. can clearly be identified which lies between the values obtained
Cambio
The hardness distribution provides indirect information about for the similar material weld, with a shift to the harder material
the strength and the deformation behaviour of spot-welded joints. (HCT690T). Consequently, in DMW the weld nugget hardness is
Normally, increasing hardness results in decreasing formability influenced to a greater extent by the harder material.
with simultaneously increasing strength [23]. Typical weld nugget
hardness profiles of the tested material combinations are given in 3.2. Static shear tension test
Fig. 6. Due to the high cooling rates in resistance spot welding, i.e.
3000–10,000 K/s [24], an increase in weld nugget hardness, in com- The stability of spot welds is often characterised with the help
parison to the base metal, is observed. It can also be seen that the of shear tension tests. The load–displacement curves obtained
hacia
HAZ hardness decreases from the nugget edge towards the base from shear tension tests for a nugget diameter dn of nearly 4.5 mm
disminución trazada
metal, which indicates the decrease of material strength in that are plotted in Fig. 7a. For SMW, a considerable increase in failure
area. In agreement with the literature [15,16], the hardness of the load with ascending base metal strength is discovered. This can be
fusion zone (nugget) and of the HAZ of TRIP steel HCT690T is appre- related to the fact that the strength of spot welds is determined,
ciably higher as a consequence of the higher carbon equivalent among other parameters like sheet thickness and nugget size
(Table 1), in comparison to the micro-alloyed steel HX340LAD. (constant parameter in this study), by the nugget and especially
The hardness profile for the dissimilar material welds HAZ hardness.
HX340LAD/HCT690T shown in Fig. 6b takes a discontinuous Regarding the failure loads of DMW, comparable values as in
alcanzado
shape which is attributable to the different properties of the the case of SMW of HX340LAD can be achieved; however, there is
caida en supuestos
welded materials. Examination of the HAZ hardness values of each a significant drop in displacement. This confirms the assumptions
sobre
component (HX340LAD; HCT690T) does not reveal any significant Por lo tanto
regarding the strength of DMW based ontendeciathe results of hardness
increase in hardness compared to the corresponding SMW. Thus, tests are seen below. Fig. 7b shows this trend of increasing peak
Fig. 9. Results of front and back side strain filed measurement at the peak load (a) HX340LAD (b)/HCT690T/HX340LAD with schematically indicated nugget location.
7104 S. Brauser et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7099–7108
Fig. 10. Maximum local strain εl ,max versus shear tension load with visualisation of local strain (a) HX340LAD/HCT690T (b) HCT690T, (c) HX340LAD/HCT690T and (d)
HX340LAD.
aumentando
shear tension loads with rising base metal strength. Previous work 3.3. Strain measurement
concerning the influence of the softer material part in DMW has
lleva a disminuir deformación de la superficie
also shown that the softer material component leads to a decrease In order to measure the surface strain of spot welds in the spot
of the failure load [25].
Además weld area, the systematic error of the measuring system was first
diminución
Furthermore, the decrease in displacement, shown in Fig. 7a, determined by analysing an unstressed specimen. As a result, the
points out that DMW of HX340LAD/HCT690T offer lower local strain varies within a range of 0.25% and −0.3%.
deformability compared to the base metal combination of The results of local strain measurements in the area of maxi-
trazada representado
HX340LAD/HX340LAD. mal surface strain are plotted in the diagrams depicted in Fig. 8.
Fig. 11. Cross-section with hardness values (a) HX340LAD, (b) HCT690T, (c) HX340LAD/HX340LAD.
S. Brauser et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7099–7108 7105
Fig. 12. SEM-fractography of spot weld fracture areas, (a) HX340LAD, (b) HCT690T, HX340LAD/HCT690T.
al igual que
Due to the identical microstructures as well as hardness values in However, since the softer material significantly determines the fail-
the HAZ and the fracture area, respectively, no significant differ- ure load in DMW, the peak load of DMW is lower than in SMW
valores de deformación
ences in strain values between front and back side of SMW could of TRIP steel HCT690T.At the maximum local strain (peak load),
campos de deformación
be observed. Fig. 9a exemplifies the strain fields of HX340LAD on the HX340LAD component offers values of up to 12% while the
both sides to demonstrate that not only the strain values are nearly HCT690T component exhibits a value of 3.5%, Fig. 10a and c. There-
identical but also the measured strain fields. In the following, the fore, a nearly similar decrease of the DMW local strain values of up
specimen side where the maximum strain occurs will be considered to 20% is found for both steel parts in comparison to the correspond-
to discuss the strain behaviour. ing SMW. Consequently, the combination of different materials in
mayor disminución
As expected, the results of DMW (HCT690T/HX340LAD) reveal RSW
caida
results in a major decrease of the peak load associated with
relacionada
material-dependent strain behaviour, Figs. 8c and Fig. 9b. After a drop in maximum local strain relating to the stronger material
exceeding 1% local strain the HX340LAD exhibits a faster increase of part. Concerning the softer material component, only the maxi-
local strain than the TRIP component. The comparison of the strain mum local strain is reduced, however without any influence on the
behaviour of SMW and DMW shows only small differences con- fracture behaviour.
cerning the maximum strain values (Fig. 8) as well as the measured The differences in local strain values between the tested sheet
strain fields (Fig. 9). metal combinations are reflected in the fracture behaviour, Fig. 11.
By analysing the measured strain field during the shear tension The micrographs of the cross-section for the micro-alloyed steel
test as well as the cross-section of the tested sheet metal combina- HX340LAD and the DMW (HX340LAD/HCT690T) show that fracture
tion, statements about the deformation behaviour can be made. In happened in the HAZ/base metal transition zone approximately
Fig. 10, the maximum local strain εx,max is plotted versus the shear 1 mm away from the nugget circumference after significant neck-
tension load. Moreover, the results of strain field measurements are ing, Fig. 11a and c. In the DMW, fracture happened in the softer
visualised. For visualisation of the deformation behaviour, the peak material part (HX340LAD). Lin et al. [17] have performed finite ele-
load Fs,max (shear tension strength) was used as reference point, ment analyses of the failure modes of spot welds and have shown
because the crack initiation and propagation was not in the focus that when necking failure occurs at the distance in the order of
of this study. the thickness away from the notch tip, the ductility of the mate-
cerca muesca o grieta
The strain curve of spot-welded HX340LAD (Fig. 10b) shows rial near the notch or crack along the nugget circumference is high.
a large range of plastic deformation and necking which is char- This result corresponds well with the local strain values discussed
acteristic of ductile material behaviour. The maximum strain is above.
concentrated in the HAZ/base metal transition zone (see Fig. 10d) Unlike the micro-alloyed steel HX340LAD where fracture hap-
and reaches values up to 15% at the peak load. In contrast, the TRIP pened only in the HAZ/base metal transition zone, the TRIP steel
steel HCT690T exhibits only a small range of plastic deformation HCT690T fracture started directly in the HAZ region with the max-
lograr
and fracture happened after achieving the peak load (11.4 kN). This imum hardness gradient (nearly 526 HV → 378 HV, Fig. 6b) and
material behaviour is representative of a less ductile fracture. The propagated into the region with reduced hardness and strength,
lograda resultados
maximum deformation achieved at the surface happened also in Fig. 10b. Based on the outcomes of [17] this behaviour could be
the HAZ/base metal transition zone (Fig. 10b) and alcanza
reachesvalores
values attributed to lower ductility of the material near the notch which
lleva a la iniciación grietas retorcidas
of nearly 5%. A reason for the lower local strain of the TRIP steel leads to initiation of kinked cracks at the critical locations of the
Muescas vistas
HCT690T is the lowerobstaculiza
rotation of the nugget due to the higher notch seen in Fig. 10b.
nugget hardness that hinders the deformation of the surface [14]. To examine the deformation behaviour in more detail, SEM anal-
realizadas
It should be noted that the local strain behaviour and the position yses of the fracture region were performed, Fig. 12. Due to the
acuerdo hoyuelos
of the maximum local strain is in good agreement with the results fact that the shape of the dimples depends on the loading condi-
of Radakovic and Tumuluru [6] shown in Fig. 1b. tions, the plug failure under tensile loading predominantly results
hoyuelos equiaxiales mientras que la carga de cizallamiento hoyuelos
The respective load–strain curves of DMW show runs compa- in equiaxed dimples while shear loading will create elongated dim-
rable to those of the corresponding curves of spot-welded SMW. ples [15]. Fig. 12a shows the results of SEM for the micro-alloyed
7106 S. Brauser et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7099–7108
Fig. 13. Force distribution at nugget centreline and circumference during shear
tensile test [15].
hoyuelos
steel HX340LAD (SMW). It can be seen that the dimples signifi-
carga de corte
cantly elongated indicate that the fracture happened under shear
load. This result is opposite to the work of Chao [7] who studied
failure mechanisms of pullout occurring in RSW during the shear
test. In contrast, the TRIP steel HCT690T exhibits equiaxed dimples
in the fracture zone which are typical of a tensile fracture mecha-
nism Fig. 12b. In the case of DMW, elongated dimples are observed Fig. 14. Retained austenite (blue) in TRIP steel HCT690T base metal. (For interpre-
tation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the
(Fig. 12c) that implies similar behaviour to SMW of HX340LAD web version of the article.)
(fracture under shear load).
The differences in fracture mechanisms (shear, tensile) between
TRIP steel HCT690T and micro-alloyed steel HX340LAD could be
explained by the simple model for stress distribution in spot welds 3.4. Decrease in ductility of TRIP steel HCT690T
under shear tensile load seen in Fig. 13. Shear stresses are domi-
nant at the interface. At the nugget circumference, the stress nature A main reason for the high ductility of TRIP steel HCT690T is the
is tensile shear at position A and compressive at position B [15]. retained austenite content which can transform into martensite
Owing to the macroscopic rotation of the weld, not only tensile under stress [1,2]. Fig. 14 shows the austenite distribution (blue
shear force F| is produced at the spot weld but also cross-tension marked area) in the base metal measured with the help of EBSD.
organizado
force F⊥, whereas with resign rotation angle ϕ the cross-tension The fine dispersed austenite is arranged at the grain boundaries of
force F⊥ increases: the fcc lattice structures (grey area; primarily ferrite) and reached
a content of ∼17%.
F⊥ = F · sin ϕ (2)
The following discussion regarding the low local ductility in
F = F · sin ϕ (3) the spot-welded area of TRIP steel HCT690T focuses on the HAZ,
because in this investigation fracture starts in and propagates
As a result, the softer material HX340LAD with higher rotation through the HAZ. During resistance spot welding, the HAZ under-
angle ϕ (∼10◦ at the peak load) is subject to a higher cross- goes a temperature cycle which is characterised by a high cooling
tension force than the TRIP steel HCT690T (∼4◦ ). Therefore, the rate compared to other welding procedures [24]. Fig. 15a shows
micro-alloyed steel HX340LAD and the DMW HX340LAD/HCT690T the temperature field at the peak temperature of the tested TRIP
(rotation angle ϕ ∼ 9◦ ) show in contrast to the SMW of HCT690T a steel determined by FE software Sorpas. Furthermore, the crack
etiquetado
shear fracture behaviour with elongated dimples. The difference in path seen in Fig. 11b is labelled. On the basis of the calculated
campo de temperatura
rotation corresponds well with that described in the work of [14]. temperature field, cooling-down-curves for three points near the
Concerning the deformability, ductile fracture characterised by crack path and the corresponding cooling times t8/5 were investi-
hoyuelos
a dimple structure is observed in all cases (SMW, DMW). Even gated, Fig. 15b. The short process time of resistance spot welding
profunidad
though the deepness of the dimples is an indication of the material results in times t8/5 of 80 ms (point 1) and 100 ms (point 2), respec-
ductility [26], the differences in local strain seen in Fig. 10 cannot tively. Based on continuous cooling transformation diagrams for
be detected by SEM analyses for comparison due to the elongation low alloyed TRIP steel [27,28], only martensite can develop in the
of the dimples. HAZ directly adjacent to the fusion zone.
Fig. 15. Temperature field at the peak temperature of spot-welded TRIP steel HCT690T with spot weld diameter of 4.5 mm determined by FE software Sorpas (a), cooling-
down-curves for three measurement points in the HAZ (b).
S. Brauser et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7099–7108 7107
Fig. 16. Results of EBSD measurement near the crack path area; black and red marked areas correspond to fcc structure, blue marked areas correspond to bcc structure.
The EBSD analyses confirm the assumptions regarding the nificant shift to the softer material (HX340LAD) and a drop in
reduction of austenite during spot welding. Fig. 16 shows the results displacement.
of EBSD measurement near the crack path area (HAZ) transcribed • Up to the point of uniform elongation, the local strain measure-
from Fig. 11b. It can be seen on the one hand that the austenite ment of SMW shows no significant differences between front and
content in the region of crack propagation is negligibly small. On back side.
the other hand, the austenite content increases with increasing • The local strain observed for the micro-alloyed steel HX340LAD
distance from the fusion zone. That is a result of the lower peak reaches values of ∼15% while the TRIP steel offers values of only
temperature during welding (see Point 3 in Fig. 15b) which does ∼5%.
not lead to a complete austenite transformation into bcc struc- • In DMW, a nearly similar decrease of the local strain values
tures (martensite, bainite). The black marked area (Fig. 16b and accounting for up to 20% for both steel parts is found compared
c) corresponds to very fine fcc structures. with the results of SMW.
Summarising, resistance spot welding leads to a nearly complete • With regard to the ductility behaviour, spot-welded joints are
removal of retained austenite as well as a hardness increase in the characterised by a significant loss of local strain accounting for
fracture region (HAZ) resulting in a considerable decrease of local up to 25% for HX340LAD and 85% for HCT690T compared to the
strain measured with digital image correlation technique. base metal.
• SEM results show no indication of reduced deformability of TRIP
4. Conclusions steel compared to the micro-alloyed steel HX340LAD. But evi-
dence of different loading conditions between HX340LAD and
In this study, deformation behaviour of SMW and DMW in shear HCT690T was found.
tension test was investigated using a system for optical strain filed • EBSD analysis of the retained austenite content reveals an
analysis. This was accomplished applying hardness values of the elimination of austenite in the fracture region of spot-welded
weld and HAZ, load–displacement curves as well as load–strain HCT690T. The austenite reduction and the hardness increase in
curves. SEM and EBSD analyses were carried out to characterise the fracture region (HAZ) results in low strain values compared
the deformation behaviour in the fracture area. to the base metal.
The following essential conclusions can be drawn:
The strain values obtained in this investigation can be integrated
• The failure load does not show a linear increase with the base into numerical simulation studies to help analyse the deformation
metal strength. Failure loads of dissimilar material welds are as well as the fracture behaviour of spot welds and are expected to
located between the analysed similar material welds with a sig- contribute to increased passenger safety in the long run.
7108 S. Brauser et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7099–7108
References [14] H. Zhang, J. Senkara, Resistance Welding: Fundamentals and Applications, 1st
ed., CRC Press, 2005, pp. 107–146.
[1] S. Maggi, M. Murgia, Weld. Int. 22 (2008) 610–618. [15] M. Pouranvari, H.R. Asgari, S.M. Mosavizadch, P.H. Marashi, M. Goodarzi, Sci.
[2] Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) Application Guidelines Version 4.1 Technol. Weld. J. 12 (2007) 217–225.
http://www.worldautosteel.org/Projects/AHSS-Guidelines.aspx, 13.04.2010. [16] M.I. Khan, L.M. Kuntz, Y. Zhou, Sci. Technol. Weld. J. Vol.13 (2008) 294–304.
[3] M.D. Tumuluru, Weld. J. (2006) 31–37. [17] P.-C. Lin, S.-H. Lin, J. Pan, Eng. Frac. Mech. 73 (2006) 2229–2249.
[4] G. Lacroix, T. Pardoen, P.J. Jacques, Acta Mater. 56 (2008) 3900–3913. [18] Y.R. Kan, Met. Eng. Quart. 16 (1976) 26–36.
[5] M.H. Saleh, R. Priestner, J. Mater. Proc. Technol. 113 (2001) 587–593. [19] N. Pan, S. Sheppard, Int. J. Fatigue 24 (2002) 519–528.
[6] J.D. Radakovic, M.D. Tumuluru, Proceeding of the International Sheet Metal [20] T. Satoh, H. Abe, K. Nishikawa, M. Morita, Trans. Jpn. Weld. Soc. 22 (1991) 46–51.
Welding Conference XIII, 2008. [21] M.J. Cieslak, ASM Handbook, vol. 6, ASM International, Materials Park, Ohio,
[7] Y.J. Chao, J. Eng. Mater. Technol. 125 (2003) 125–132. 1990, pp. 94–95.
[8] J.A. Davidson, SAE Technical Paper 830033, Society of Automotive Engineers, [22] S. Lorenz, T. Kannengiesser, Proceeding of the Fifteenth International Confer-
Warrendale, PA. ence on the Joining of Materials (JOM 15), Helsingr-Denmark, 2009.
[9] ISO 14329:2000: Resistance welding – destructive tests of welds – failure types [23] DIN EN ISO 18265: Metallic materials–Conversion of hardness values (ISO
and geometric measurements for resistance spot, seam and projection welds, 18265:2003); German version EN ISO 18265:2003.
2003. [24] J.E. Gould, S.P. Khurana, T. Li, Weld. J. 85 (2006) 111–116.
[10] S. Zuniga, S.D. Sheppard, in: R.S. Piascik (Ed.), Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics, [25] B. Hernandez, M.L. Kuntz, M.I. Khan, Y. Zhou, Sci. Technol. Weld. J. 13 (2008)
vol. 27, ASTM STP 1296, 1997, pp. 469–489. 769–776.
[11] S.-H. Lin, J. Pan, S. Wu, T. Tyan, P. Wung, SAE Technical Paper 2001-01-0428, [26] G. Lange, (Hg.): Systematische Beurteilung Technischer Schadensfälle, 5th ed.,
Society of Automotive Engineering, Warrendale, 2001. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2001, ISBN 3-527-30417-7 (in German).
[12] P. Wung, T. Walsh, A. Ourchane, W. Stewart, M. Jie, Exp. Mech. 41 (2001) [27] M. Zhang, L. Lia, R.Y. Fu, D. Krizan, B.C. De Coomanc, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 438
100–106. (2006) 296–299.
[13] P. Wung, Exp. Mech. 41 (2001) 107–113. [28] M. Grajcar, Opiela, J. Ach. Mater. Manu. Eng. 29 (2008) 71–78.