Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348

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Journal of Manufacturing Processes

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Geometrical degradation of electrode and liquid metal embrittlement

cracking in resistance spot welding
Kaisar Mahmud a, Siva Prasad Murugan a, Yongjin Cho b, Changwook Ji c, Daegun Nam d,
Yeong-Do Park a, *
a
Department of Advanced materials Engineering, Dong-Eui University, Busan, 614714, Republic of Korea
b
Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Dong-Eui University, Busan, 614714, Republic of Korea
c
Advanced Forming Process R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Ulsan, 44413, Republic of Korea
d
Dongnam Division, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Busan, 46938, Republic of Korea

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Electrode degradation during the resistance spot welding (RSW) of coated steels has been a major challenge in
Liquid metal embrittlement automobile manufacturing as it affects the weld quality in terms of nugget size, defects, and mechanical prop­
Resistance spot welding erties. In this work, we investigate the effect of electrode degradation on such a defect, Zn-assisted liquid metal
TRIP steel
embrittlement (LME) cracking, in RSW by producing 400 consecutive welds of galvannealed TRIP steel. Infrared
Zinc coating
Electrode degradation
thermography, carbon imprinting, dynamic resistance, optical imaging, SEM, and EDS were used to characterize
Infrared thermography various phenomena during consecutive welding. LME crack severity was found to be unaffected in the first 80
Current density consecutive welds. However, the severity declined sharply between 80–200 welds, and further, it remained low
in 200–400 welds. The electrode experienced geometrical degradation (increase in the radius of curvature and
face diameter) and metallurgical degradation (Cu-Zn-Fe alloy layer formation) during consecutive welding. The
geometrical degradation, specifically the radius of curvature, was confirmed as the main factor affecting LME
cracking. On the other hand, metallurgical degradation did not affect the LME cracking in the first 200 welds as
its influence was overcome by the geometrical degradation. However, a small impact of metallurgical degra­
dation was detected in 200–400 welds in the form of local rise and fall in the temperature and LME crack length.

1. Introduction
Over the past two decades, the regulations on fuel efficiency, CO2
emissions, and passenger safety were the main concerns in the devel­
opment of automobile structures [1]. Weight reduction of the vehicle
has been identified as a key strategy to achieve this, however, the weight
reduction and passenger safety seem to be mutually contradictory. The
fuel efficiency and emission control are ensured by lighter vehicles, but
the crash performance may be compromised. To meet these challenging
requirements, advanced high strength steels (AHSS), with higher
strength and formability, which allows the structures to be made with
thinner sheets, have been developed [2,3]. Corrosion is another concern
before the automotive industry while dealing with AHSS. Hence in the
production field, zinc or aluminum coating in pure or alloyed form is
used as an effective technique to prevent the AHSS from corrosion [4–6].
The body-in-white (BIW) structure is usually manufactured with
resistance spot welding (RSW), a common joining process that uses the
principle of Joule heating for making a fusion weld at the interface be­
tween two sheets [7–9]. The complex thermal-mechanical phenomena
of RSW cause the generation of thermal stress, which combines with the
molten Zn from the coating, results in the formation of liquid Zn induced
surface cracks known as liquid metal embrittlement (LME) [10–12]. Zn
coating melts to form liquid Zn, which penetrates the steel grain
boundaries in the presence of tensile stress, causing the initiation and
propagation of brittle cracks during RSW [13]. It has been reported that
the location and length of such LME cracks significantly affect the me­
chanical performance of the spot welds [14,15].
The tensile stress responsible for LME cracking in RSW was found to
be thermally actuated and arose from a strong nonlinear temperature
gradient created by the contact of a water-cooled copper electrode with
the weld surface [16,17]. Therefore, the welding electrode has been
identified as an influencing factor affecting LME cracking in RSW. As a
result, the effect of electrode geometry (shape and size) on LME cracking
has been a topic of extensive research. A previous study demonstrated

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ypark@deu.ac.kr (Y.-D. Park).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2020.11.025
Received 6 July 2020; Received in revised form 7 October 2020; Accepted 24 November 2020
Available online 8 December 2020
1526-6125/© 2020 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
K. Mahmud et al.
Table 1
Chemical composition and mechanical properties of TRIP steel used for this
study.
Chemical composition Mechanical properties
(wt. %)
Fe C Si Mn Ultimate Tensile Yield Strength Elongation
Strength (MPa) (MPa) (%)
Bal. 0.2 1.5 2.4 980 625 21
Table 2
Conditions for the welding (*1 cy=16.67 ms). (There is an unnecessary
space inbetween Table 2 and the next section in the pdf of the proof. Please
avoid this if possible.)
Current: 9000 A Welding Time: 30 cy*
Electrode Force: 3.5 kN Squeeze Time: 45 cy
Coolant flow rate: 4 L/min Hold Time: 5 cy
that the use of a relatively flat electrode with a large radius minimized
LME cracks [18]. Another study reported that the flat-type electrode
with a large diameter decreased LME sensitivity [19]. Bohne et al. found
the radius type electrode to be more successful in preventing LME cracks
than the large in diameter dome-type electrodes [20]. DiGiovanni et al.
reported a similar finding that the radius type electrode suppressed the
LME crack formation while the dome type and truncated cone type
electrodes produced severe cracking [17]. The same investigation
showed not only the effect of electrode geometry on crack formation but
also the fundamental aspects of LME cracking in RSW [17].
Another difficulty with RSW of Zn coated steels is the degradation of
the electrodes while making spot welds continuously [21,22]. In the
automotive industry, a pair of electrodes is used to make hundreds of
welds before being dressed or replaced. As continuous welding pro­
gresses, the electrode undergoes various modifications, geometrical and
chemical, causing significant variation in the electrical, thermal, and
mechanical contact conditions at the electrode-sheet interface (E/S).
This eventually affects the process of heat generation and heat dissipa­
tion during RSW. It influences not only the weld nugget formation but
also the thermal-mechanical characteristics at the E/S, which may
impact the LME cracking as well. Though the LME cracking is closely
related to the electrode geometry and the thermal-mechanical features
of the E/S, only two studies on the interaction between the electrode
degradation and LME cracking in RSW have been conducted till date
[23,24]. One of these studies observed that the LME cracking severity
increased with continuous welding owing to the electrode degradation
[23]. However, a systematic analysis of the physical, electrical, thermal,
and mechanical changes of the electrode and the E/S during the process
of continuous welding was not performed in this study. In contrast, Frei
et al. did not detect any significant impact of electrode degradation on
the cracking behavior, even after producing 400 continuous welds with
the same electrode [24]. In the absence of any in-depth study on the
interaction between the electrode degradation and LME in RSW, this
work studies all the aspects of electrode degradation while making 400
consecutive galvannealed TRIP steel welds and their influence on LME
cracking severity. The geometrical and metallurgical changes that
occurred on the electrode during the process of degradation were
carefully analyzed using a unique analysis method such as Infrared (IR)
thermography. The impact of such degradations on the
electrical-thermal-mechanical aspects of RSW and hence LME cracking
with consecutive resistance spot welding was disclosed.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials and consecutive resistance spot welding
A 1.2 mm thick transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel with a
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Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348
6 μm galvannealed coating was used for the experiment. The chemical
composition and mechanical properties of the steel are given in Table 1.
TRIP steel was welded with a galvannealed low carbon steel of thickness
1.6 mm which enabled a higher heat input as the thick low carbon steel
shifts the expulsion towards higher currents [25]. Welding was carried
out using a medium frequency direct current (MFDC) inverter servo
C-type resistance spot welding machine. The conditions for making the
welds are shown in Table 2. Welding current was selected as the current
500 A below the expulsion current. A dome type Cu-Cr electrode (ISO
F1− 16-20− 40-6) with face diameter (d) of 6 mm, body diameter (D) of
16 mm, the radius of curvature of the face (R) of 40 mm was used. The
as-received electrode was used after cleaning with acetone and an
electrode stabilization process, by doing 20 welds at a current of 1000 A
lower than the experimental current. This stabilization process condi­
tions the electrode face so that it promotes the reproducibility of the test
results [26]. After the stabilization of the electrodes, 400 consecutive
welds were made with a constant welding rate of 2 welds per minute.
The real time dynamic resistance detection of all the welds was done by
the welding controller (Chowel resistance welding controller; Wel­
com1000) for obtaining the dynamic resistance curve of the welds.
2.2. Characterizing surface temperature, electrode degradation, LME
crack, and weld nugget formation
A real-time record of the E/S temperature was measured using a FLIR
A655sc infrared camera. The specifications of the IR camera used for the
study can be seen in our previous work [27]. During the process of
consecutive welding, carbon imprints of the electrode surface were
taken at an interval of every 40 welds. The carbon imprints indicate the
total working plane of the electrode, which provides in contact with the
sheet surface after squeezing with the given electrode force [26].
Moreover, the image of the electrode surface during the consecutive
welding was taken using a portable Dino-Lite digital microscope at an
interval of every 40 welds.
After making all the welds, surface and cross-sectional analysis of the
electrodes were performed using optical microscopy (Olympus BX51 M),
field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM; JEOL JSM-7200
F), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) at the Converging
Materials Core Facility, Dong-Eui University. LME cracks formed in the
welds were analyzed with the liquid penetrant test on the surface of the
weld, optical microscopy, and SEM-EDS on the cross-section of the
welds. Cross-sectional analysis of the welds and the electrodes were
done after standard metallographic sample preparations such as cross-
sectioning, mounting and polishing. SiC polishing papers, 3 μm dia­
mond suspension, 1 μm diamond suspension, 0.05 μm colloidal silica
suspension (with ethyl alcohol) were used for the metallographic pol­
ishing. 2% nital solution (with ethyl alcohol) was used to etch and reveal
the weld nugget before the optical microscopy of the cross-section of the
weld.
2.3. Simulation of resistance spot welding
SORPAS®, a commercial finite element (FE) software, was used to
simulate the mechanical contact and the current density distribution at
the E/S during the consecutive resistance spot welding. Previous works
showed that the SORPAS® provides reliable information regarding the
electrical-thermal-mechanical characteristics of RSW with LME cracking
[10,16,25,28,29]. All the welding parameters, including the electrode
geometry, were provided as same as that of the experimental procedure.
For a comprehensive analysis of the impact of geometrical degradation
of electrode on the electrical-thermal-mechanical features of the welds,
various electrode geometries were designed using a 2D coordinate
mapping system. The radius of curvature and the tip face diameter of the
electrode were varied in order to simulate the geometrical degradation.
A mesh was generated with 5000 elements with high mesh density at the
interfaces.
K. Mahmud et al. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348

Fig. 1. (a) Cross-section image of W1 showing type-A and type-C LME cracks. EDS elemental maps of type-C LME crack: (b) Fe; (c) Zn. (In W1, “W” stands for weld
and “1′′ stands for number of welds.).

Fig. 2. Crack indications in various welds revealed by liquid penetrant test.

3. Results
3.1. LME cracking in consecutive welding
Fig. 1a shows the cross-section image of the 1st weld (W1) of the
consecutive welding in which cracks can be seen on the TRIP steel side.
It was confirmed from Fe and Zn elemental mapping using EDS (Fig. 1(b,
c)) that these are zinc assisted LME cracks [10]. Galvannealed coating
melted during resistance spot welding, and the resulting liquid zinc
penetrated the steel to form LME cracks owing to the induced thermal
stresses [10,16,17]. Large LME cracks were formed inside and outside of
the electrode imprint of the weld surface. A previous study termed the
crack formed inside and outside of the electrode imprint as type-A and
type-C cracks, respectively [16]. In Fig. 1a, the crack length of type-A
crack and type-C crack were measured as 542 μm and 560 μm,
respectively.
The liquid penetrant test was performed to reveal the presence of
crack on the surface of the consecutive welds, and the results are dis­
played in Fig. 2. A significant variation in LME cracking behavior was
observed with consecutive welding. The crack indications on the surface
of 1st and 80th welds (W1 and W80) are fully visible, whereas these
crack indications on the subsequent welds are continuously diminished
with consecutive welds. The crack indications are entirely invisible in
W160 and W400, denotes that the LME cracks are absent, or the crack
dimensions are less than that of the lower limit of the liquid penetrant
test. Therefore, the liquid penetrant tests were conducted for the welds
W158, W159, W161, W398 and W399 for verify the observations
regarding W160 and W400. In W240, the size and brightness of the

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Fig. 3. Cross-sectional images of various welds showing type-A and type-C cracks.

Fig. 4. Cross-section images of various welds showing LME cracks: (a) type-A crack; (b) type-C crack. Graph showing the maximum crack length with consecutive
welding: (c) type-A crack; (d) type-C crack.

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K. Mahmud et al.
Fig. 5. (a) Cross-section images of various welds showing the nugget diameter; (b) Graph showing the nugget diameter with respect to the number of consecu­
tive welding.
crack indications are less than that of W1. It indicates that the length,
depth, and width of the cracks in W240 are less than that of W1. Overall,
the size and brightness of the crack indications decreased with an
increasing number of welds. From these observations, it can be sum­
marized that the LME cracking severity decreased with consecutive
welding.
As the liquid penetrant test could not provide accurate and quanti­
tative information regarding the LME cracks, metallographic techniques
were used to analyze the cracks in the cross-section of the consecutive
welds. Fig. 3 shows some of the cross-sectional images of the consecutive
welds. The crack length of both type-A and type-C cracks decreased with
the increasing number of welds, especially after 80 welds. The crack
length of type-A and type-C cracks in these welds were measured as
shown in Fig. 4(a,b), and the maximum crack length of type-A and type-
C cracks is plotted against the number of welds in Fig. 4(c,d), respec­
tively. As it was challenging to perform the cross-sectional analysis of all
the 400 welds, three welds were considered at an interval of 40 welds,
and the average of maximum crack lengths of these three welds was
calculated. A similar observation of cracking behavior as in the LPT
results can be perceived from the metallographic analysis too, that is, the
LME cracking severity of type-A and type-C cracks decreased with
consecutive welds after 80 welds. This result of decreasing LME severity
with an increasing number of electrodes, though, contradicts the pre­
vious works [23,24]. However, the experimental conditions in those
works such as the type of coating and steel, sheet thickness, welding
time, and external loading were different from this work.
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Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348
Based on the trend of maximum crack lengths in Fig. 4, the entire
process of 400 consecutive welds can be divided into three stages: (1)
stage-I between W1 and W80 with relatively constant but higher crack
lengths; (2) stage-II between W80 and W160 with a declining crack
length; and (3) stage-III between W160 and W400 with a relatively
constant with less than 200 μm crack length. Even though the stage-III is
considered as a stage of constant crack length, local increments and
decrements in the crack length can also be seen.
3.2. Nugget formation in consecutive welding
It has been previously shown that the electrode may undergo
degradation in consecutive welding, and it can influence the nugget
formation [18,28–30]. The nugget formation plays an important role in
LME cracking as it controls the temperature and stress development in
resistance spot welding [10,12,17,25]. So, the nugget formation in the
consecutive welds was examined in terms of nugget diameter and shown
in Fig. 5. The nugget diameter remained constant until 80 welds and
then decreased with increasing weld number. The decrease in nugget
diameter is an indication of the reduction of heat input and surface
temperature. As the estimation of temperature at the weld surface from
the nugget diameter is highly qualitative, infrared thermography was
employed to quantify the temperature in section 3.3.
Monitoring the dynamic resistance curve is considered as an effective
method to analyze the phenomena occurring during the resistance spot
welding process [33–36]. The dynamic resistance was monitored for the
K. Mahmud et al.
Fig. 6. (a) Dynamic resistance curves of various welds; (b) time of β-peak with
respect to the number of consecutive welds.
consecutive welds and is plotted in Fig. 6. A typical dynamic resistance
consisted of two peaks, namely an α-peak and a β-peak [33]. The β-peak
represents the initiation and growth of the weld nugget. Therefore, the
time of β-peak can be considered as the instant of nugget initiation [37].
The occurrence of β-peak in the dynamic resistance curve delayed with
the increasing number of welds as shown in Fig. 6(a,b), especially after
80 welds. The delayed β-peak and hence the delayed nugget initiation in
the later welds can be considered as an indication of the reduction in
heat input with increasing number of welds, resembling the observation
made with nugget diameter [33–36].
3.3. Surface temperature in consecutive welding using Infrared
thermography
Fig. 7 shows the measurement of the temperature of the weld surface
at the E/S using infrared (IR) thermography during the consecutive
RSW. Fig. 7a&b illustrates the arrangement of the samples and the IR
camera for the thermography. The IR camera was kept 700 mm away
from the weld sample and mounted at an angle of 15◦ with respect to the
steel sheet. With this arrangement, the temperature at the edge of the E/
S during RSW was able to be measured. Fig. 7c shows the thermography
image of the 1st and 400th welds captured at the end of the weld time.
The temperature measurement from the edge of the E/S of various welds
(as in Fig. 7c) is plotted as the temperature history in Fig. 7d. The
temperature in W1 and W80 increased continuously till the end of the
weld time. However, the temperature in the other welds (W160 to
W400), did not increase till the end of weld time; instead, it decreased
and then again increased before reaching the end of the weld time. It
indicates that the heat dissipation through the electrode exceeded the
heat input during RSW, which resulted in the reduction of temperature
before the end of weld time. That means, the effective heat input for
RSW decreased with consecutive welding after 80 welds. As a result, the
peak temperature at the edge of the electrode to sheet E/S interface
decreased with consecutive welding after 80 welds as shown in Fig. 7e.
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Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348
The trend of peak temperature versus the number of welds was observed
to be similar to the trend of maximum crack length versus the number of
cracks in Fig. 4. Thus, the peak temperature relationship in Fig. 7e can
also be divided into three stages, such as stage-I, stage-II, and stage-III.
As evident from the results of nugget diameter, dynamic resistance
and IR thermography that the effective heat input during RSW decreased
with progressing the consecutive welding, resulted in the delay of
nugget formation and reduction in peak temperature at the weld surface.
It is considered that these results are closely related to the LME cracking
behavior with consecutive welding, as shown in Fig. 2,3&4 . The
welding parameters such as electrode force, welding current, welding
time, hold time and welding rate, the field variables such as clamping
condition, ambient temperature, relative humidity, and coolant flow
rate and the materials such as type of steel sheet, sheet thickness, coating
type, and coating thickness were kept the constant during the consec­
utive welding of 400 samples. Moreover, the welding electrodes were
neither changed nor dressed. Therefore, there was a possibility of the
degradation of the welding electrodes during the consecutive welding,
which can potentially influence various phenomena in RSW [19,30,33,
38].
3.4. Degradation of the electrode in continuous welding
Degradation of welding electrode is considered as an important
factor influencing the weld quality during the automobile
manufacturing operations [22]. Typically, it results in a decrease in the
size and strength of the weld nugget. Electrode degradation is controlled
by a variety of factors such as the type of coating and material to be
welded, the design and the material of the electrode itself, and the
electrical-mechanical characteristics of the welding machine [22].
However, this work is not intended to cover the mechanism of electrode
degradation or the factors influencing the degradation. We have focused
only on the influence of electrode degradation on specific attributes of
RSW, such as electrical, thermal, and mechanical characteristics. In this
regard, the degradation of the welding electrode is divided into two
categories based on the method of certain damage process of electrode
degradation affect the characteristics of RSW: (1) metallurgical degra­
dation; (2) geometrical degradation.
3.4.1. Metallurgical degradation
All the metallurgical changes that occur on the surface of an elec­
trode during the process of degradation, which can potentially influence
various characteristics of RSW are considered as metallurgical degra­
dation. Previous studies reported the alloying between the coating and
the electrode as the damage process in the metallurgical degradation of
zinc-coated steels [19,20,31]. Other metallurgical modifications such as
recrystallization and softening of the surface layer of cold-worked
electrodes are not considered as these do not directly influence the
welding characteristics. Instead, they trigger the geometrical degrada­
tion of the electrode, such as mushrooming or growth of the electrode.
The alloying of the electrode surface was characterized by using
optical microscopy and SEM-EDS, and the results are demonstrated in
Fig. 8. Optical images of the electrode surface before the 1st weld and
after the 400th weld is shown in Fig. 8(b,c), respectively. After 400
consecutive welds, the copper electrode surface was contaminated by
the Fe-Zn alloys of galvannealed coating. The chemical composition of
the electrode surface after 400 welds revealed by SEM-EDS analysis is
shown in Fig. 8c and Table 3. The electrode surface which contacted the
steel sheet during RSW was observed with the presence of Zn, Fe, and O,
and no significant Cu content was detected. So, it is evident that the
surface of the copper electrode was completely contaminated with the
Fe-Zn alloy coating. Moreover, it can be inferred from Table 3 that the
surface of the degraded electrode mainly consisted of ZnO and α-Fe(Zn).
SEM-EDS analysis from the surface is not sufficient to confirm the
alloying phenomena in a degraded electrode. Therefore, a detailed
analysis was performed on the cross-section of the electrode, as shown in
K. Mahmud et al. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348

Fig. 7. Measurement of temperature at E/S interface using IR thermography: (a) optical image of the sight of the IR camera; (b) schematic of the arrangement of the
sample and IR camera; (c) thermography image of the welds W1 and W400 captured at the end of the weld time; (d) Temperature history at E/S interface of various
welds; (e) peak temperature at the edge of E/S with number of consecutive welds.

Fig. 8(e–n). The color contrast in optical image and elelemntal distri­
bution in SEM-EDS analysis confirmed the presence of various alloy
layers with certain Fe-Zn-Cu phases on the electrode surface owing to
the reaction between the Cu electrode and Fe-Zn alloy coating [21,31,
32]. The outer layer consisted of ZnO and α-Fe(Zn), the inner layer
consisted of β-CuZn phase and the intermediate layer consisted of either
Γ-ZnFe phase or γ-CuZn phase [31,32]. During RSW, the galvannealed
coating at the E/S interface melted due to the high temperature of
welding. When the copper electrode was exposed to the molten Zn-Fe,
various Cu-Zn-Fe alloy layers were formed according to the tempera­
ture and exposure time between the molten Zn-Fe and Cu electrode [21].
Furthermore, the Zn from the outer layer of the electrode surface
diffused into the inner layers during the consecutive welding to form
β-CuZn, γ-CuZn, and α-CuZn phases. The thickness of the multilayer
alloy was measured as 32 μm at the center, 115 μm at the edge and 68
μm at the shoulder of the electrode surface. During resistance spot
welding, the center of the electrode-to-sheet interface experiences less
temperature than the edge [16,25]. The layer thickness at the shoulder
was less than that of the edge but higher than that of the center.
Moreover, the alloy layer on the shoulder of the electrode was formed as
a result of the squeeze-out of the molten Zn (or Zn-Fe) with high tem­
perature from the E/S. Ultimately, the surface of the Cu electrode
transformed into an alloy layer consisted of various Cu-Zn-Fe phases
during the consecutive welding as shown in Fig. 8(f–n).

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Fig. 8. Characterizing the metallurgical degradation: (a) schematic of the design of the electrode; optical image of electrode surface: (b) as received condition; (c)
after 400 consecutive welds. (d) SEM image of electrode surface after 400 consecutive welds showing the location of EDS measurements. (e-h) optical image showing
the cross-section of electrode after 400 consecutive welds. (i-k) SEM image of the cross-section of electrode after 400 consecutive welds. (l-n) EDS elemental mapping
of cross-section of electrode after 400 consecutive welds (corresponding to (i-k)).

3.4.2. Geometrical degradation
All the geometrical changes (size, shape, and morphology) experi­
enced by a degraded electrode, which can affect various characteristics
of RSW are considered as geometrical degradation. Previous studies
listed the following as the possible damage processes in geometrical
degradation: (1) mushrooming or growth of the electrode surface; (2)
central cavitation due to the pitting of electrode surface [21,22]. The
reason behind the geometrical degradations is the metallurgical damage
process listed in the previous section (3.4.1). Specifically, the recrys­
tallization and softening of the surface layer of cold-worked electrodes
cause the mushrooming or growth of the electrode surface, whereas the
alloying between the coating and the electrode prompts the pitting and
central cavitation of the electrode surface.
Carbon imprinting at an interval of every 40 welds was used to
characterize the geometrical degradation of the electrodes during the
consecutive welding. A carbon imprint shows the areas of mechanical
contact between the electrode and the sheet when the given electrode
force is applied at room temperature. Though it cannot represent the
exact thermal and electrical contact area during welding, the area of
carbon imprint can be taken as an approximate value of contact area,

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Table 3
The chemical composition on the surface of the electrode (Fig. 8d) measured
using EDS.(There is an unnecessary space inbetween Table 3 and Fig. 9 in the pdf
of the proof (page 10). Please avoid this if possible.)
Points Element Weight %
O Fe
1 6.12
2 7.35
3 10.34
4 10.33
5 3.03
Fig. 9. Characterizing the geometrical degradation: (a) images of carbon im­
prints after various welds. (b) Diameter of carbon imprint with respect to the
number of consecutive welds.
Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348
especially as the initial contact area before the commencement of
welding current [25,39]. The examination of the carbon imprints, as in
Fig. 9, indicated that the diameter of the nominal contact area at the E/S
increased during the progress of consecutive welding. According to
Murugan et al., the radius of curvature is the only geometrical parameter
Zn Cu influencing the initial contact diameter (area) for a constant electrode
force, if the contact diameter is less than the face diameter of the elec­
1.88 92.01 –
17.27 73.34 2.05
trode [25]. Thus, the radius of the curvature of the current electrode
– 89.66 – surface was significantly increased while progressing the consecutive
– 89.67 – welding. Moreover, pitting or cavitation, characterized by non-contact
47.55 49.42 – zones inside the carbon imprint, was not observed with the consecu­
tive welding. However, the contact diameter slightly exceeded the
original face diameter of the electrode, as in Fig. 9b, towards the end of
the consecutive welding. It indicates that the face diameter was also
increased along with the increase in the radius of curvature.
Optical images of the electrode surface were taken at an interval of
40 welds and are shown in Fig. 10a. The face of the electrode is high­
lighted with a yellow dotted circle. The face diameter was observed to be
increased marginally while progressing the consecutive welding, but the
growth of face diameter became stagnant after 120 welds. No infor­
mation regarding the radius of curvature can be obtained from the op­
tical image of the electrode surface. Therefore, a cross-sectional image
was taken from the electrode after 400 welds, as shown in Fig. 10c
(W400). For the comparison, a new electrode was stabilized, and the
cross-sectional image was taken as in Fig. 10b (W0). It is distinct from
these cross-sectional images that the radius of curvature (convexity) and
the face diameter of the electrode surface was increased with the
consecutive 400 welds. The face diameter can be measured from the
optical image of the electrode surface (Fig. 10a), but the radius of cur­
vature cannot be measured. Therefore, an indirect method was adapted
for estimating the radius of curvature during the consecutive welding.
As mentioned earlier, the diameter of carbon imprint is a function of the
radius of curvature and is the area of mechanical contact between the
electrode and the sheet when the electrode force is applied at room
temperature. The mechanical contact between the electrode and the
sheet was simulated using SORPAS®. The various radius of curvature
ranging from 40 mm to 100 mm were simulated, and the resulting
diameter of mechanical contact between the electrode and the sheet was
calculated, as shown in Fig. 11a. The diameter of mechanical contact
(simulated) between the electrode and the sheet is essentially equivalent
to the diameter of carbon imprint. Therefore, the radius of curvature of
the electrode corresponding to a specific diameter of a carbon imprint
and weld number can be estimated as described in Fig. 11a. Finally, the
calculated radius of curvature and the measured face diameter are
plotted as a function of the number of welds in Fig. 11b, which sum­
marizes the geometrical degradation with consecutive welding
graphically.
4. Discussion
Electrode degradation must be the reason for the variation in LME
cracking behavior with consecutive welding. Since it is not clear
whether the metallurgical or the geometrical degradation is responsible
for it, the effect of metallurgical and geometrical degradations on
various characteristics of RSW should be discussed carefully. The elec­
trical and thermal properties of the electrode are changed with the
metallurgical degradation process, which considerably impacts the
electrical-thermal-mechanical characteristics of E/S [21,22]. The elec­
trical resistivity and thermal conductivity of Cu, Zn, and binary alloys of
Cu-Zn and Fe-Zn at 20 ◦ C are listed in Table 4 [40–42]. Compared to Cu,
the Cu-Zn-Fe phases exhibit higher electrical resistivity and lower
thermal conductivity. It leads to an inference that the electrode expe­
rienced an increase in electrical resistivity and a decrease in the thermal
conductivity with consecutive welding. As a result, the temperature at
the E/S and hence the LME cracking sensitivity should have increased
with consecutive welding, however, the opposite was observed. It
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K. Mahmud et al. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348

Fig. 10. Characterizing the geometrical degradation: (a) optical image of electrode surface; optical image of the cross-section of: (b) as-received condition; (c) after
400 consecutive welds.

suggests that the metallurgical degradation did not make a dominant The geometric singularity would cause the current flow in a nonuniform
influence on LME behavior by increasing the temperature. In contrast, mode when it conducts through the interface. As the radius of curvature
the local ups and downs in the temperature (Fig. 7e) and LME behavior increases, the electrode-sheet contact area increases, which reduces the
(Fig. 4) after 200 welds should be due to the subtle yet significant in­ current density. According to the equation of heat generation rate in eq-
fluence of metallurgical degradation. 1, heat generation at E/S decreases considerably with a decrease in
On the other hand, the geometrical degradation influences the current density.
physical and mechanical attributes of the E/S such as the contact area,
qgen = J 2 .ρ (1)
contact pressure etc [17,25,43]. It was previously reported by Murugan
et al. that the radius of curvature influences the contact area signifi­
I
cantly, and the influence of face diameter is minimal [25]. Moreover, the J= (2)
A
results in Fig. 12b showed that the change in face diameter (14.3 %)
compared to the change in the radius of curvature (155 %) is insignifi­ where, qgen is the rate of heat generation, J is current density, ρ is
cant. So, it is confirmed that the change in face diameter would not electrical resistivity, I is welding current and A is the area of electric flux.
substantially influence various characteristics of RSW. Therefore, the Simultaneously, heat dissipation decreases with an increase in contact
radius of curvature is considered as the key parameter of geometrical area according to the one-dimensional Fourier’s law of heat conduction
degradation influencing the characteristics of RSW during consecutive in eq-3.
welding.
dT
Fig. 12 shows the relationship between current density at E/S and the qdiss = − k.A. (3)
radius of curvature of the electrode obtained from the SORPAS® simu­ dx
lation. The substantial reduction in the current density at the edge of the where, qdiss is the rate of heat dissipation, k is thermal conductivity, A is
interface is seen with an increasing radius of curvature. Current density the area of heat flux and dT/dx is the thermal gradient in the direction of
is related to the geometric singularity, which is a function of the ge­ heat dissipation. Hence, the rate of effective heat input (qeff) decreases as
ometry of the electrode and the contact area between the electrode and qgen decreases, and qdiss increases as in eq-4.
the sheet. The geometry difference at the interface when the electrode
encounters a larger sheet is known as a geometric singularity in RSW. qeff = qgen − qdiss (4)

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K. Mahmud et al. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348

Fig. 11. (a) Calculation of radius of curvature corresponding to various weld
numbers from the diameter of simulated mechanical contact (SORPAS®) and
dimeter of carbon imprint. (b) Calculated radius of curvature (R) and the
measured face diameter (d) are plotted against the number of welds.(There is an
unnecessary space inbetween Fig.11 and Table 4 in the pdf of the proof (page
12). Please avoid this if possible.)
This theoretical elucidation provides insight into the experimental
results of reduction in effective heat input with consecutive welding.
Owing to the reduction in the effective heat input, the temperature of E/
S decreased with an increasing radius of curvature of the electrode, as
shown in Fig. 13. However, this reduction in the temperature is not
consistent even though the increase in the radius of curvature and
electrode-sheet contact area were steady and continuous. In Fig. 7e, the
temperature in stage-III was slightly higher than that in stage-II and did
not decrease significantly with further increase in the radius of curva­
ture. The local rise and fall in temperature in stage-III cannot be
explained with the radius of curvature alone. In conjunction with the
geometrical degradation (i.e., increase in R), metallurgical degradation
(alloying process) also occurred on the electrode surface with the
consecutive welding. As mentioned earlier, the electrical resistivity of
the electrode increases, and the thermal conductivity of the electrode
decreases by the development of Cu-Zn-Fe alloy layers on the electrode
surface. That means, the metallurgical degradation increases the heat
input and temperature. Consequently, there is a competition between
geometrical degradation and metallurgical degradation of the electrode
surface in deciding the effective heat input and temperature. That
means, the effect of geometric degradation dominated the effect of
metallurgical degradation on the effective heat input and the tempera­
ture in stage-I and stage-II. However, the metallurgical degradation
competed well with the geometric degradation to make local rises in
temperature in stage-III as seen in Fig. 7e. The dominance of the type of
degradations is highlighted in the graph (Fig. 13), correlating the
calculated radius of curvature with the temperature and length of LME
cracks.
The influence of geometrical degradation, i.e., the increasing radius
of curvature, on the temperature and LME crack severity is summarized
in Fig. 13. It has been found that the LME cracking in RSW is influenced
by the temperature and tensile stress development [11]. The tempera­
ture governs the melting and physicochemical properties of Zn, micro­
structure of the steel, and the magnitude of stress development during
RSW. When the Zn coating is melted, the liquid Zn penetrates through
the austenite grain boundaries of the steel to create cracks in the pres­
ence of tensile stress. Temperature and heating rate regulate the fraction
of liquid Zn formed in the zinc coating [44]. Also, the surface tension of
liquid Zn decreases with increasing temperature, resulting in high
wettability liquid Zn on austenite grain boundaries, which enhances
LME cracking [33,45]. Moreover, coarse-grained austenitic micro­
structure forms at a high temperature, which is favorable for the LME
cracking in Zn coated steels [46]. Accordingly, LME crack severity
decreased with a decrease in temperature in consecutive welding, as
shown in Fig. 13. Besides, the tensile stresses responsible for the LME
cracking in RSW are primarily thermally activated as they are caused by
the non-linear temperature gradient at the edge of the E/S due to the
sudden temperature drop by the movement of thermal contact between
the electrode and the steel sheet [16,17]. Thus, the magnitude of tensile
stress is regulated by the temperature and the temperature gradient at
the weld surface. The non-linear temperature gradient at the weld sur­
face is established as a result of thermal contact with the water-cooled
copper electrode. As the radius of curvature increased with consecu­
tive welding, the magnitudes of the sudden temperature drop and the

Table 4
The electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of Cu, Zn, and binary alloys of Cu-Zn and Fe-Zn at 20 ◦ C [40–42].
Composition Electrical resistivity at 20 ◦ C Thermal conductivity at 20 ◦ C Equilibrium phase Reference

Absolute (nΩ.m) Relative to Cu (%) Absolute (W/m.K) Relative to Cu (%)

Cu 17.2 0 391 0 α-Cu

90Cu-10Zn 39.1 127 189 − 52
80Cu-20Zn 54 214 140 − 64 α-CuZn [40]
70Cu-30Zn 62 260 120 − 69
60Cu-40Zn 61.6 258 123 − 69
50Cu-50Zn – – 167 − 57 β-CuZn
45Cu-55Zn – – 96 − 75
40Cu-60Zn – – 62 − 84
45Cu-65Zn – – 80 − 80 γ-CuZn
30Cu-70Zn – – 68 − 83 [41]
25Cu-75Zn – – 100 − 74 δ-CuZn
10Cu-90Zn – – 108 − 72
η-ZnCu
5Cu-95Zn – – 107 − 73
Zn – – 112 − 71 η-Zn
54Fe-46Zn 92 435 106 − 73 α-Fe(Zn) [42]

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K. Mahmud et al. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348

Fig. 13. Correlating the temperature at E/S interface and LME cracks (type-A
and type-C) with geometrical degradation (i.e., calculated radius of curvature).

resistance, which in turn increased the surface temperature of the weld

and thereby increased the surface LME cracks. To be precise, an
aluminum induced metallurgical degradation of the electrode influ­
enced the LME severity. However, the details of the geometrical
degradation were not reported in the stated research. In our work, the
galvannealed coating did not contain aluminum. On the other hand, Frei
et al. did not find any influence of the electrode flattening (geometrical
degradation) on LME cracking in electrogalvanized dual-phase steel
[24]. An external tensile pre-load was applied while making the welds in
that work. Therefore, it is evident that the LME cracks were generated by
the external stress (60–70 % of the yield strength), but not by the
inherent characteristics of RSW process such as temperature and ther­
mal stress. So, the influence of electrode degradation induced
thermo-mechanical features on LME cracking was not distinguished in
the referred research.
After 400 consecutive welds, a few more welds (W401) were made
with the degraded electrode at a current of 9200 A (200 A higher than
Fig. 12. Influence of radius of curvature (R) and face diameter (d) on the
the original current). According to the results in Fig. 14 and Table 5,
current density at E/S obtained from the SORPAS® simulation.
large LME cracks that are comparable in length with the first 80 welds in
Fig. 4 were formed in W401. The dynamic resistance curves in Fig. 14d
thermal gradient decreased owing to the rapid enlargement of thermal
confirm that the nugget initiation (β-peak) of W401 was observed at 7
contact at the E/S during RSW. Overall, the magnitude of thermal stress
cycles, which is close to that of W1. It implies that the effective heat
decreased with increasing radius of curvature of the electrode surface.
input in W401 was similar to that of W1, but higher than W120 and
As mentioned earlier, the findings of this paper contradict the pre­
W400. Similarly, the temperature at the surface of W401 was higher
viously published works on the interaction between electrode degra­
than that of W200 and W400, yet close to W1. These indicate that the
dation and LME [23,24]. Tolf et al. found that the length and probability
effective heat input of W401 was as higher as W1, resulted in the LME
of the cracks in hot-dip galvanized dual-phase steel increased with the
cracking severity of W401 similar to W1. The weld W401 was indeed
number of welds [23]. They found that aluminum in the coating was
produced with a current density of 200 A/m2 higher than W400. It
picked up by the electrode resulted in the formation of Al2O3 layer on
provides a considerably higher effective heat input rate than that of the
the electrode surface. Al2O3 layer severely increased the electrical
original current according to equations 1&4. This result serves as an

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K. Mahmud et al. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 61 (2021) 334–348

Fig. 14. LME cracks in W401 weld: (a) optical image after the liquid penetrant tested. Optical image of the cross-section of the weld showing: (b) type-A; (c) type-C
LME cracks. Comparison of (d) dynamic resistance curve and (e) temperature at E/S of W1, W200, and W400 (9000 A) with those of W401 (9200 A).

increases the contact area at the E/S, resulting in the reduction of

Table 5 temperature and thermal stress at the weld surface and thereby a
Comparison of LME crack length, time of β-peak, peak temperature at E/S of W1, decrease in LME severity. However, the influence of metallurgical
W200, and W400 (9000 A) with those of W401 (9200 A).(There is an unnec­
degradation such as an aggressive alloying process and geometrical
essary space inbetween Table 5 and reference in the pdf of the proof (page 14).
degradation such as pitting and cavitation are yet unclear, and it re­
Please avoid this if possible.)
quires further research.
LME and other attributes Various welds during consecutive welding
during consecutive welding
W1 W200 W400 W401
5. Conclusion
(9000 A) (9000 A) (9000 A) (9200 A)
The effect of electrode degradation on LME cracking during resis­
Maximum crack length of 371 ± 110 ± 25 80 ± 51 527 ± 88
type-A (μm) 120 tance spot welding was investigated by producing 400 consecutive
Maximum crack length of 461 ± 83 15 ± 10 44 ± 30 560 ± 70 welds of galvannealed TRIP steel. The following conclusions can be
type-C (μm) drawn from this study.
Time of β-peak (cycles) 6.5 9.5 13 6
Peak temperature at E/S (◦ C) 669 ± 5 590 ± 8 616 ± 10 657 ± 4
• During the consecutive welding, the electrode surface experienced
geometrical (i.e., increase in the radius of curvature and face diam­
additional proof for the research finding by experimentally validate that eter of the electrode tip) and metallurgical (i.e., Cu-Zn-Fe alloy layer
the current density is the major factor affecting the effective heat input, formation) degradations as a result of consecutive welding.
temperature, and thermal stress, and hence the LME cracking severity. • LME crack severity remained relatively unaffected till 80 consecutive
This investigation provided insights on not only the effect of welds, and then declined sharply between 80 and 200 welds, and
geometrical and metallurgical degradations on LME cracking but also further, remained low between 200 and 400 welds with the local rise
the substantial influence of the radius of curvature of the electrode and falls in the crack length.
surface on suppressing LME cracking in RSW which is in great agree­ • The geometrical degradation, specifically the radius of curvature,
ment with the previous research [17,20,25]. A larger radius of curvature was found as the major factor affecting the LME cracking. The radius
decreases the current density and increases the heat dissipation by of curvature increased with an increasing number of welds, increased

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electrode-sheet contact area. Consequently, the current density at the
electrode-sheet interface decreased and the heat dissipation through
the electrode increased, resulting in a decrease in temperature and
thermal stress at the electrode-sheet interface. As a result, LME
cracking severity decreased with consecutive welding.
• The metallurgical degradation did not affect the LME cracking in the
early stages of consecutive welding (till 200 welds). Its effect was
overcome by the opposite effect of geometrical degradation. How­
ever, the consequence of metallurgical degradation was evident from
the local rise and fall in the temperature and LME crack length in
200–400welds. Cu-Zn-Fe alloy layers on the electrode surface with
higher electrical and thermal resistance caused an increase in the
effective heat input and temperature.
From this investigation it is also understood that the electrode ge­
ometry influences the LME cracking to a great extent, especially the
radius of curvature, and this insight can be used in the development of
suppression technology of LME cracks in resistance spot welding.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary material related to this article can be found, in the
online version, at doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2020.11.025.
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