Materials and Manufacturing Processes

ISSN: 1042-6914 (Print) 1532-2475 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lmmp20

Effect of Spot Welding Parameters on Tensile

Properties of DP 600 Steel Sheet Joints

S. Aktas , U. Ozsarac & S. Aslanlar

To cite this article: S. Aktas , U. Ozsarac & S. Aslanlar (2012) Effect of Spot Welding Parameters
on Tensile Properties of DP 600 Steel Sheet Joints, Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 27:7,
756-764, DOI: 10.1080/10426914.2011.647940

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10426914.2011.647940

Published online: 24 May 2012.

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Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 27: 756–764, 2012
Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1042-6914 print=1532-2475 online
DOI: 10.1080/10426914.2011.647940

Effect of Spot Welding Parameters on Tensile Properties

of DP 600 Steel Sheet Joints
S. Aktas1, U. Ozsarac2, and S. Aslanlar2
1
Ermetal A.S., Bursa, Turkey
2
Technical Education Faculty Department of Metal Education, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey

In this study, the electric resistance spot welding process has been applied to dual-phase (DP 600 type) steel sheets. Spot welding
parameters, namely, electrode form, electrode material, and electrode force were stayed constant, and welding current and welding time have
been changed to detect the optimum welding parameters for maximum joint strength. The sample welded joints have been carried out as
1.0 mm–1.0 mm, 1.2 mm–1.2 mm, and 1.0 mm–1.2 mm in three different thickness combinations in 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 kA welding currents
and 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 cycles welding times. The strengths of the joints under uniaxial tensile-shear and tensile-peel loading have been stud-
ied and compared with the conventional spot welds of maximum joint strength for similar thickness steel sheets. The microstructure and hard-
ness of spot welded joint samples have also been studied andrecommendations were given to users showing the optimum welding parameters.

Keywords Automotive; Dual-phase; Resistance spot welding; Tensile.

INTRODUCTION dissimilar metals, a heat balance must be achieved that

Resistance spot welding is a relatively clean and
efficient welding process that is widely used in sheet metal
joining, especially due to its advantages of high pro-
duction rate and incorporation with automation in
production assembly lines with other fabricating opera-
tions [1]. Spot welding is one form of resistance welding,
which is a method of welding two or more metal sheets
together without using any filler material by applying
pressure and heat to the area to be welded. The process
is used for joining sheet materials and uses copper alloy
electrodes to apply pressure and convey the electrical cur-
rent through the workpieces. In all forms of resistance
welding, the parts are locally heated. In automotive
industry, weight reduction is strongly demanded for
energy and natural resource savings. Resistance spot
welding is a widely used and important welding process
in automotive body construction because of its low cost,
easy automation, minimum skill requirements,and
robustness to part tolerance variations [2]. The process
of resistance spot welding involves essential metallurgical
changes resulting from intensive heating of joined mate-
rials (until they melt) and then rapid cooling. Therefore,
material strength within the joint is affected by properties
of the new material formed in the heat affected zone
(HAZ) and residual stresses deriving from heat and
mechanical stresses that affect the structure during the
process [3].
One of the problems facing industry is the joining of
dissimilar materials. In making a spot weld between
Received November 13, 2011; Accepted November 13, 2011
Address correspondence to S. Aktas, Sakarya University, Techni-
cal Education Faculty, Department of Metal Education, Esentepe
Campus, 54187, Sakarya, Turkey; E-mail: ozsarac@sakarya.edu.tr
compensates for the differing properties such as electri-
cal and thermal of the two metals resulting in the
production of a weld nugget of the two metals, having
approximately the same thickness on each side of the
interface. Low carbon steel can be spot welded to most
other ferrous metals and to many nonferrous materials
producing a weld nugget that is an alloy of the two
metals [4]. Today, the dual-phase steels are being com-
monly used in automotive industry and joined by means
of resistance spot welding. The dual-phase steel is a
high-strength steel which is heat-treated to contain both
a ferrite and martensite microstructure for extra
strength. It is highly formable and has a low alloy con-
tent and high strength. Dual-phase steel features a soft
ferrite microstructure, with a matrix containing islands
of martensite in the secondary phase (increasing
amounts of martensite increase the tensile strength.)
Dual-phase steel features a low yield ratio (i.e., yield
strength to tensile strength), high tensile strength, and
high work hardening rate.
The advantages of dual-phase steel are as follows [5]:
low yield strength, low yield to tensile strength ratio,
high initial strain hardening rates, continuous yielding,
good uniform elongation, excellent combinations of
tensile strength, ductility, and toughness.
Dual phase steels are quickly becoming one of the most
widely used and versatile materials in today’s automotive
industry. Currently, these steels are most commonly used
in structural applications to replaced more conventional
HSLA (high speed low alloy) steels. They offer a great
opportunity for part weight reduction. The improved
formability, capacity to absorb crash energy, and ability
to resist fatigue has driven this substitution. Lately, these
steels are gaining popularity in automotive closures.

756
EFFECT OF SPOT WELDING PARAMETERS 757

Various researchers investigated the use of dual-phase

steels. Fallahi studied microstructure-properties corre-
lation of dual-phase steels produced by controlled rolling
process [6]. Chakraborti and Mitra researched again
microstructure and tensile properties of high strength
duplex ferrite-martensite (DFM) steels [7]. Dual-phase
steels have fatigue resistance, so this property has become
a great deal of interest by researches. Okayasu et al. stud-
ied fatigue properties of ultra-fine grained dual phase
ferrite=martensite low carbon steel [8], and Long et al.
characterized fatigue failure of spot welded high strength
steel sheets because the electrical resistance spot welding
is the most popular method in joining these steel sheets
especially in automotive industry [9]. Tang et al. [10]
studied the influence of welding machine on mechanical
characteristics of the resistance spot welding process
and weld quality. In addition to weld machine, the
electrodes of the process play an important role on the
quality of joints. For this reason, Zhang et al. [11] and
Chatterjee and Waddell [12] investigated the characteris-
tics of electrode wear in resistance spot welding dual- FIGURE 1.—Specimen sizes in electrical resistance spot welding.
phase steels, and Fukumoto et al. [13] studied the effects
of electrode degradation on electrode life in resistance
spot welding of aluminium alloys; finally, Holiday et al. Mo: 0.119, Co: 0.010, Mn: 1.750, Cr: 0.096, Si: 0.157,
[14] researched the relative contribution of electrode tip Al: 0.033, P: 0.015, S: 0.012, Cu: 0.018, and Sn: 0.007.
growth mechanisms in spot welding zinc coated steels.
In this research study, we have tried to show the effect Welding Operations
of spot welding parameters on the tensile properties of The electric resistance spot welding operations were
DP 600 steel sheet joints. The dual-phase steels are performed with a time and current controlled double
welded in automotive applications by resistance spot armed, pneumatic, and having 120 kVA capacity spot
welding method. There are many publications men- welding machines. The electrode compression force was
tioned above dealing with spot welding technique continuously measured and controlled during the opera-
especially with the electrodes used and their specifica- tions. In addition, the welding current was measured and
tions, failures, etc.; but there are fewer studies exhibiting recorded. The other parameters were adjusted automati-
the effect of the main welding parameters like welding cally. The spherical toe electrodes having 16 mm diam-
current and weld time (cycles) on mechanical properties eter were used. The welding times were selected as 5,
of joints. In a recent study, Aslanlar [15] has been 10, 15, 20, and 25 periods, and the welding current was
presented the effect of nucleus size (weld nugget size) determined as 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 kA. The electrode pressure
on mechanical properties of spot welded galvanized was kept constant at 6 kN. The spot welding machine is
micro-alloyed steel sheets having 0.8 mm thickness. In shown in Fig. 2. The spot welded joints then subjected to
present study, the spot welding method was applied to the tensile-shear and tensile-peel tests as presented in
dual-phase steel sheets in 1.0 mm and 1.2 mm thick- Figs. 3 and 4, respectively, in Instron 5582 type tensile
nesses. The failure in spot weld nugget is seen in two test machine, as shown in Fig. 5.
modes, namely, tensile-shear and tensile-peel during
loading conditions, and both types of tensile tests were
applied to specimens to characterize the failure mode
in current study.

EXPERIMENTAL WORK
Materials
In this study, DP 600 type dual-phase steel sheets were
selected and joined by the electrical resistance spot weld-
ing method. Two different thicknesses were taken as
1.0 mm and 1.2 mm. The electrode form and material
and electrode force were assumed constant, and welding
current and welding time were selected as parameters.
The sizes of specimens prepared by spot welding were
provided in Fig. 1. The chemical composition of steel
sheets used in welding operations in wt%: C: 0.045, FIGURE 2.—Spot welding machine used to prepare sample joints.
758 S. AKTAS ET AL.

FIGURE 3.—(a) Sizes of tensile-shear test sample; (b) and (c) specimens
after tensile-shear test.
FIGURE 5.—Tensile-shear and tensile-peel test machine.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Tensile-Shear and Tensile-Peel Test Results weld current in 1.0–1.0 mm thickness joints, and in
12 cycle welding time and 7 kA weld current in 1.2–
The dual-phase DP 600 sheets were joined by means 1.2 mm joints, and finally in 11 cycle welding time and 8
of resistance spot welding in three different combination kA weld current in 1.0–1.2 mm welding joints. Having
as 1.0 mm–1.0 mm, 1.2 mm–1.2 mm, and 1.0 mm–1.2 mm reached these maximum values, the tensile-shear force
according to their thicknesses, and each combination decreases sharply, because the electrodes sink into the
was exposed to tensile-shear and tensile-peel tests. The material with the pressure of electrode force and splashing
welding time and the welding current affect the tensile-
shear and tensile-peel strengths of weld joints, so they
were chosen as parameters, and these graphs drawn dur-
ing tests are given in Figs. 6–17.
Based on these graphs, the highest tensile-shear force
values were obtained in 10 cycle welding time and 4 kA

FIGURE 4.—(a) Sizes of tensile-peel test sample; (b) and (c) specimens after FIGURE 6.—Tensile-shear force values of spot welded 1.0–1.0 mm DP600
tensile-peel test. sheet (color figure available online).
EFFECT OF SPOT WELDING PARAMETERS
FIGURE 7.—Tensile-shear force values of spot welded 1.2–1.2 mm DP 600
sheet (color figure available online).
is seen in weld nugget. These occurrences increase by the
welding time and weld current increment. As a result, the
amount of welded material decreases, the diameter of
weld nugget increases, and the height of it decreases.
Therefore, the weld nugget height=nugget diameter ratio
is used in strength calculations of resistance spot welding
method.
The highest tensile-peel force values were obtained in
12 cycle welding time and 7 kA weld current in 1.0–
1.0 mm thickness joints, and in 15 cycle welding time
FIGURE 8.—Tensile-shear force values of spot welded 1.0–1.2 mm DP 600
sheet (color figure available online).
759
FIGURE 9.—Tensile-shear force vs. welding current values of spot welded
1.0–1.0 mm DP 600 sheet (color figure available online).
and 7 kA weld current in 1.2–1.2 mm joints, and finally
in 15 cycle welding time and 6 kA weld current in 1.0–
1.2 mm welding joints.
Microhardness Profile
The microhardness values of three combinations of
specimens were measured from four different points
in 1.0–1.0 mm and 1.2–1.2 mm joints, and from seven
points in different thickness sheets’ joint with 0.5 mm
spacing under 0.5 kg load in Vickers scale as shown in
Figa. 18(a,b), respectively.
FIGURE 10.—Tensile-shear force vs. welding current values of spot welded
1.2–1.2 mm DP 600 sheet (color figure available online).
760
FIGURE 11.—Tensile-shear force vs. welding current values of spot welded
1.0–1.2 mm DP 600 sheet (color figure available online).
The hardness graphs of resistance spot welded DP 600
type steel sheets are presented in Figs. 19, 20, and 21 for
1.0 mm–1.0 mm, 1.2 mm–1.2 mm, and 1.0 mm–1.2 mm
combinations, respectively. These graphs show a typical
microhardness profile of the DP 600 steel, which exhib-
ited a significant hardness increase from the base metal.
Because of the high content of alloying elements in the
steel, and high cooling rate, the hardness of weld nugget
is about two times more than that of the base metal, at a
value of approximately 400 HV, which is 20 HV lower
than Ma’s microhardness result measured in weld
FIGURE 12.—Tensile-peel force values of spot welded 1.0–1.0 mm DP 600
sheet (color figure available online).
S. AKTAS ET AL.
FIGURE 13.—Tensile-peel force values of spot welded 1.2–1.2 mm DP 600
sheet (color figure available online).
nugget of DP 600 steel [17]. It is well known that for
steels the ultimate tensile strength is proportional to
the Brinell hardness value and the yield strength of steels
was also reported to be proportional to the Vickers
hardness value [17]. As a result, the strength of the weld
nugget would be expected to be about two times higher
than that of thebase metal, which is in good agreement
with the results reported by Ghosh and Patel [1] and
Ma et al. [17].
In this study, the mean microhardness value in base
metal was measured as 197 Hv in three combinations.
FIGURE 14.—Tensile-peel force values of spot welded 1.0–1.2 mm DP 600
sheet (color figure available online).
EFFECT OF SPOT WELDING PARAMETERS
FIGURE 15.—Tensile-peel force vs. welding current values of spot welded
1.0–1.0 mm DP 600 sheet (color figure available online).
Its value increases in HAZ and reaches the top value in
weld nugget. The mean hardness value for weld nugget
was measured as 400 Hv in all types of specimens. Chak-
raborti and Mitra [3] and Fallahi [2], however, measured
the hardness approximately as 350 HV in weld nugget.
The 50 HV difference between them and our study is
thought to the lack of preheating. The electric resistance
spot welding operations were started without any
preheating to specimens, so if it is applied to sheets, a
lower hardness value and more ductile weld nugget
can be obtained.
FIGURE 16.—Tensile-peel force vs. welding current values of spot welded
1.2–1.2 mm DP 600 sheet (color figure available online).
761
FIGURE 17.—Tensile-peel force vs. welding current values of spot welded
1.0–1.2 mm DP 600 sheet (color figure available online).
Microstructure
The much higher hardness or strength in the weld
nugget is apparently attributed to the formation of
martensite. There are typically two phases present in
the microstructure of DP steels, a-ferrite (body centered
cubic), and martensite (body centered tetragonal). The
optical microscope and JEOL JSM 6510 scanning
electron microscope (SEM) were used to examine the
microstructural variations.
In Fig. 22, the base metal and HAZ regions of 1.0–
1.0 mm joints welded at 5 cycle welding time and 4 kA
FIGURE 18.—Hardness measurement points: (a) for 1.0 mm–1.0 mm and
1.2 mm–1.2 mm, and (b) for 1.0 mm–1.2 mm combinations (color figure
available online).
762
current were presented. The joining line is viewable. The
grain size increases from left to right due to high amount
of heat input to the material in HAZ. This coarse
grained region is close to nugget, and the rupture occurs
here during tensile tests. In Fig. 23, the weld nugget of
1.0–1.0 mm combination at 10 cycles in 4 kA which gives
the highest tensile-shear strength was seen. In Fig. 24,
the different thickness sheets’ microstructure was shown.
The electrode compression force cannot be separated to
two sheets homogeneously due to thickness difference.
Therefore, an asymmetric weld nugget geometry was
obtained at the end of the spot welding process resulting
low tensile-shear and tensile-peel force.
In Fig. 25, the SEM micrograph of the same specimen
shown in Fig. 24 was given. The black holes sign the
welding defects in joining zone. The white points are
the oxidation regions, and their concentrations in wt%
FIGURE 19.—Microhardness values taken from welded joint 1.0–1.0 mm
combination: (a) in 4 kA, (b) in 5 kA, (c) in 6 kA, (d) in 7 kA, and (e)
in 8 kA welding current (color figure available online).
S. AKTAS ET AL.
are given in Table 1. As seen in SEM micrographs,
acicular martensite formation in needle-like morphology
was observed in all over the microstructure, especially in
the welding zone (weld nugget) of specimens. The micro-
structure in the base metal basically consists of evenly
distributed martensite within the ferrite phase, which is
somewhat elongated. Martensite becomes larger, and
its volume fraction is higher in the HAZ than in the base
metal. The fusion zone is nearly full of martensite as seen
in Fig. 23. The transition region between the fusion zone
and HAZ is shown in Fig. 22. The microconstituents
with martensite and ferrite in the HAZ were finer than
those of either the base metal or the fusion zone. This
is due to the fact that austenitizing was incomplete in
the HAZ and even when austenite grains formed, grain
FIGURE 20.—Microhardness values taken from welded joint 1.2–1.2 mm
combination: (a) in 4 kA, (b) in 5 kA, (c) in 6 kA, (d) in 7 kA, and (e)
in 8 kA welding current (color figure available online).
EFFECT OF SPOT WELDING PARAMETERS 763

FIGURE 23.—Weld nugget microstructure of 1.0–1.0 mm combination

welded at 10 cycle in 4 kA.

growth was restricted by the formation of martensite.

The similar structures were detected by Liao et al. [16]
and Ma et al. [17].

FIGURE 24.—1.0–1.2 mm DP 600 sheet welded at 10 cycle in 8 kA.

FIGURE 21.—Microhardness values taken from welded joint 1.0–1.2 mm
combination: (a) in 4 kA, (b) in 5 kA, (c) in 6 kA, (d) in 7 kA, and (e)
in 8 kA welding current (color figure available online).

FIGURE 25.—SEM micrograph of 1.0–1.2 mm combination DP 600 sheets

welded at 10 cycle in 8 kA. M: martensite, F: ferrite, and O: oxidized
FIGURE 22.—1. 0–1.0 mm DP 600 sheet spot welded at 5 cycle and 4 kA regions in microstructure. Black holes denote welding failures due to
current. asymmetric nugget formation and non-homogeneous melting.
764
TABLE 1.— The wt% concentration of white
points in Fig. 25
Element Concentration, wt%
C 3.773
O 10.347
F 4.931
Al 0.506
Cr 0.191
Mn 1.477
Fe 78.774
CONCLUSIONS
Resistance spot welding has great importance to auto-
mobile industry because it contains about 90% of car
body assembly. Good weld quality does not only insure
the car body security and reliability, but also influences
the accuracy of car assembly.
The present investigation was aimed at studying the
tensile shear and tensile peel behavior of spot welded
DP 600 steel sheet joints, focusing on identifying the
fracture modes in relation to the microstructural change,
weld defects, and microhardness.
Optical microscopy of the weld zone revealed an evol-
ution from fine grains in the HAZ to coarse grains in the
fusion zone. Since the highest temperature occurred in the
fusion zone, the microstructures here were more closely
examined as columnar grains in the fusion zone. Within
this zone, dendrites disappeared due to solid–solid trans-
formation after solidification. Hence the columnar grains
are not very obvious, and they consist of typical marten-
site laths. SEM images reveal that there exist needle-like
microstructures within the martensite laths. While the
grains are fine in the HAZ, the resulting high density of
grain boundaries constitutes obstacles to the formation
of large lath martensite. To understand the variations
of the microstructure in spot welds, the welding process
(e.g., welding heat input and cooling rate) needs to be
considered. Since in resistance spot welding, the cooling
rate of welding zone is at a very high level. There is insuf-
ficient time for carbon diffusion at high cooling rates.
Therefore, the lath martensite is believed to form and
contain very thin regions of retained austenite.
The optimum welding parameters were determined
and recommended to users. The highest tensile-shear
force value for 1.0 mm–1.0 mm joints can be obtainable
at 10 cycle welding time and 4 kA weld current. These
optimum conditions seem to be 12 cycle welding time
and 7 kA weld current in 1.2 mm–1.2 mm combination,
and finally, the highest tensile-shear force value can be
reachable at 11 cycle welding time and 8 kA weld current
for the spot welding of different thicknesses sheets like
1.0 mm–1.2 mm. Similarly, 12 cycle weld time and 7 kA
weld current, 15 cycle weld time, 7 kA welding current,
and 15 cycle welding time, and 6 kA weld current seem
to be the best parameters to reach the highest tensile-peel
forces in 1.0 mm–1.0 mm, 1.2 mm–1.2 mm, and 1.0 mm–
1.2 mm welded joints, respectively.
S. AKTAS ET AL.
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