YongBing Li

Friction Self-Piercing Riveting of Aluminum Alloy AA6061-T6 to Magnesium Alloy AZ31B

Implementation of lightweight low-ductility materials such as aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and composite materials has become urgently needed for automotive manufacturers to improve the competitiveness of their products. However, hybrid use of these materials poses big challenges to traditional joining process. Self-piercing riveting (SPR) is currently the most popular technique for joining dissimilar materials and has been widely used in joining all-aluminum and multimaterial vehicle bodies. However, in riveting magnesium alloys, cracks always occur for its low ductility. In this paper, a hybrid joining process named friction self-piercing riveting (F-SPR), which combines mechanical joining mechanism of SPR with solid-state joining mechanism of friction stir spot welding (FSSW) by making rivet rotating at high speed in riveting process, was proposed aiming at joining the low-ductility materials. The effectiveness of the F-SPR process was validated via riveting 1 mm thick AA6061-T6 and 2 mm thick AZ31B. The results showed that the F-SPR process could significantly improve the rivetability of magnesium alloys, and greatly increase the joint strength, comparing with the traditional SPR process.

Quality improvement in resistance spot weld of advanced high strength steel using external magnetic field

Abstract Electromagnetic stirring method has been used in casting and arc welding processes to refine crystal grains. In this paper, the authors describe an experiment where an external magnetic field (EMF) produced by a pair of permanent magnets was used to study the effect of electromagnetic stirring on resistance spot welding of advanced high strength steel DP780. Experimental results show that under the same welding current, the EMF could refine the crystal grains, increase the weld nugget diameter, reduce the risk of shrinkage cavities and significantly improve the joint’s tensile–shear strength and ductility. However, when the welds with and without the EMF were compared under the same weld diameter, because of the greatly reduced nugget thickness, the tensile–shear strength of the weld made under the EMF is a little bit lower than the normal weld.

Impact of External Magnetic Field on Weld Quality of Resistance Spot Welding

Electromagnetic stirring (EMS) has been demonstrated to have significant effect on molten metal in terms of crystal orientation, grain refinement and macro appearance of solidified structures by making use of Lorentz force. In the present study, resistance spot welding (RSW) process of 1.25 mm thick dual-phase steel DP780 with and without the external magnetic field applied has been experimentally investigated. Impacts of the EMS method on nugget appearance, quasi-static performance, fatigue life, and fracture morphology have been systematically discussed. Results of the metallographic tests showed that, compared with the traditional resistance spot weld (RSW weld), the weld under the EMS effect (EMS-RSW weld) was wider and thinner with an obvious increase in nugget diameter. Besides, within the EMS-RSW weld, crystal orientation along the faying surface of workpieces was less directional and the grains were refined. Slightly higher uniformity in the fusion zone and more notable softening in the heat affected zone of the EMS-RSW weld were observed by microhardness tests. With regard to the mechanical properties, both tensile-shear and cross-tension samples of the EMS-RSW welds exhibited higher ultimate failure loads and longer elongations at the failure points than that of the traditional RSW welds. The EMS-RSW welds also showed longer fatigue life under dynamic tensile-shear loads, especially in high cycle conditions. Furthermore, the EMS-RSW welds exhibited a higher frequency of button-pullout fractures under the welding current close to the minimum current that the traditional RSW welds required to prevent weld interfacial fractures under quasi-static tensile-shear loads. Even if both types of the welds exhibited interfacial fractures under a relatively weak welding current, more dimples were found in the fracture surfaces of the EMS-RSW welds than that of the traditional RSW welds. It can be concluded that the external magnetic field during RSW process could improve weld performance of DP780 by enhancing weld strength and plasticity. EMS could be an effective method to improve the weldability in RSW of advanced high strength steel, ultra high strength steel, and even light metals.

Microstructure and mechanical behaviour of pinless friction stir spot welded AA2198 joints

In this study, pinless friction stir spot welding of 1.8 mm thick 2198-T8 aluminium–lithium alloy plates was carried out. The change of the angle between the nugget edge and the surface, and the relationship between this angle and joint mechanical property were analysed. The results show that the angle increases rapidly initially and then approaches 45°, which is due to the extrusion of nugget material and its flow along the surrounding ‘cold’ metal during welding. The tensile strength is determined by the nugget edge angle and hook defect. Tensile loads reach a higher value when the nugget edge angle approaches 45° but have a slight decrease with the hook angle changing from obtuse to acute. The maximum tensile/shear strength could be 8.57 kN at the rotation speed of 1500 rev min− 1 and the dwell time of 12 s.

Numerical analysis of single sided spot welding process used in sheet to tube joining

Abstract As a new kind of lightweight structure, hydroformed tubes are now widely used in vehicle bodies. The single sided spot welding (SSSW) is a variation of resistance welding used in joining hydroformed closed tubular parts and vehicle structures. During the process of SSSW, large deformation and complex contact status of the workpieces occur because there is no inside support. The time variation of the contact region and pressure distribution changes the flow paths for electric current timely and brings a fierce shunting at the position far away from the axis line, which prevents the heat concentration at the faying surface of workpieces. The characteristics of SSSW different from those of classical resistance welding mentioned above make it difficult to determine rational welding processing parameters for SSSW. In the present paper, a comprehensive structural–thermoelectric model is established. Using the incrementally coupled analysis of finite element analysis, the electrical, thermal and mechanical aspects of sheet to tube process using SSSW are investigated. The mechanical characteristic of specimens during the squeeze and welding progress, the electric current density transient distribution, the nugget formation process, and the effects of welding parameters for SSSW are discussed. It is found that ring nugget is obtained by sheet to tube SSSW. Modifying electrode force during welding cycle is a valid method to obtain acceptable nugget with shorter welding time or less energy. The calculated results of nugget size and location are in good agreement with those of experimental observations.

Cold Metal Transfer Spot Joining of AA6061-T6 to Galvanized DP590 Under Different Modes

In order to meet the upcoming regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, aluminum use in the automotive industry is increasing. However, this increase is now seen as part of a multimaterial strategy. Consequently, dissimilar material joints are a reality, which poses significant challenges to conventional fusion joining processes. To address this issue, cold metal transfer (CMT) spot welding process was developed in the current study to join aluminum alloy AA6061-T6 as the top sheet to hot dip galvanized (HDG) advanced high strength steel (AHSS) DP590 as the bottom sheet. Three different welding modes, i.e., direct welding (DW) mode, plug welding (PW) mode, and edge plug welding (EPW) mode were proposed and investigated. The DW mode, having no predrilled hole in the aluminum top sheet, required concentrated heat input to melt through the Al top sheet and resulted in a severe tearing fracture, shrinkage voids, and uneven intermetallic compounds (IMC) layer along the faying surface, leading to poor joint properties. Welding with the predrilled hole, PW mode, required significantly less heat input and led to greatly reduced, albeit uneven, IMC layer thickness. However, it was found that the EPW mode could homogenize the welding heat input into the hole and thus produce the most stable welding process and best joint quality. This led to joints having an excellent joint morphology characterized by the thinnest IMC layer and consequently, best mechanical performance among the three modes.

Effect of Rivet Hardness and Geometrical Features on Friction Self-Piercing Riveted Joint Quality

Conventional magnesium alloys, due to their low ductility, have a poor self-piercing rivetability. Cracks always occur when the magnesium sheet is placed at the bottom layer, which brings great challenge to the use of the magnesium alloys. In this paper, friction self-piercing riveting (F-SPR) process was adopted to join 1 mm thick aluminum alloy AA6061-T6 to 2.2 mm thick magnesium alloy AZ31B, and the effect of rivet hardness and key geometrical features on joint formation were studied systematically. The experimental results showed that using rivets with a hardness of 190 HV, the top aluminum sheet could be well pierced and a larger rivet shank flaring value would be formed between rivet shank and the bottom magnesium. The effect of the rivet’s geometrical features, including ribs under shoulder and inclination angle under shoulder, were examined using two evaluation criteria, i.e., rivet shank flaring value and remaining thickness, and found that the rivet with no ribs and 10 deg inclination angle under shoulder is suitable for joining 1 mm AA6061-T6 to 2.2 mm AZ31B in F-SPR process. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4029822]

Experimental study on electrode displacement fluctuation characteristics during resistance spot welding

Abstract Electrode displacement has been used to monitor resistance spot weld quality for long, but the fluctuation of the electrode displacement has not been well studied. This paper analysed the mechanism of the displacement fluctuation by collecting the welding current and electrode displacement during welding process and extracted the incremental pulse expansion of the electrode displacement, which was named as the displacement fluctuation peak. Through metallurgical experiments, the relationship of the displacement fluctuation peak with the weld nugget growth during resistance spot welding process was analysed. The whole process can be divided into four successive stages, and five characteristic points of the displacement fluctuation peak curve were selected to online predict the weld quality. The variation in the displacement fluctuation peak curve under different welding currents was studied, and the results showed that the displacement fluctuation characteristics can be used to effectively evaluate the weld quality.

Study of process/structure/property relationships in probeless friction stir spot welded AA2198 Al-Li alloy

Probeless friction stir spot welding (probeless FSSW) is a useful variant of conventional friction stir spot welding (FSSW), where there is no probe at the end of the tool shoulder. In this study, AA2198-T8 aluminum-lithium alloy has been successfully welded by probeless FSSW. The variations of geometric features of probeless FSSWed joints: stir zone width, stir zone edge angle and hook angle, and their effects on the joint mechanical properties were studied quantitatively. Results show that the width of stir zone is constrained by shoulder diameter, and the ratio of the width to shoulder diameter approaches 0.9. With the increase of stir zone depth, the stir zone edge angle approaches 45° eventually during the welding process. Additionally, the hook defect can be found among all of the probeless FSSWed joints due to the upward material flow of the lower sheet. When the hook angle is around 90°, the tensile/shear strength reaches a relatively higher value. The fracture mode changes from shear fracture to plug fracture when hook angle transforms from obtuse to acute.

Review: magnetically assisted resistance spot welding

Currently, the use of advanced high strength steels (AHSSs) is the most cost effective means of reducing vehicle body weight and maintaining structural integrity at the same time. However, AHSSs present a big challenge to the traditional resistance spot welding (RSW) widely applied in automotive industries because the rapid heating and cooling procedures during RSW produce hardened weld microstructures, which lower the ductility and fatigue properties of welded joints and raise the probability of interfacial failure under external loads. Changing process parameters or post-weld heat treatment may reduce the weld brittleness, but those traditional quality control methods also increase energy consumption and prolong cycle time. In recent years, a magnetically assisted RSW (MA-RSW) method was proposed, in which an externally applied magnetic field would interact with the conduction current to produce a Lorentz force that would affect weld nugget formation. This paper is a review of an experimental MA-RSW platform, the mode of the external magnetic field and the mechanism that controls nugget shape, weld microstructures and joint performance. The advantages of the MA-RSW method in improving the weldability of AHSSs are given, a recent application of the MA-RSW process to light metals is described and the outlook for the MA-RSW process is presented.