AN EMPIRICAL RELATIONSHIP FOR ESTIMATING METALLURGICAL AND MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF RESISTANCE SPOT WELDED DP800 STEEL JOINTS

Abstract

Similar joints of DP800 (Dual Phase) steel in lap joint configuration were fabricated using resistance spot welding (RSW) process. The process parameters were optimized using DOE (design of experiments) and the welds joints were fabricated using the obtained DOE matrix. The tensile shear fracture load (TSFL) of joints was evaluated using universal testing machine. Microhardness variations across the weld cross-section was recorded using Vickers’s microhardness tester. Microstructural features were analyzed using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). From this investigation, it is understood that increase in welding current increases the nugget zone size and it led to increasing the degrease of softening in the HAZ. The tensile shear strength is found to increase with increase in welding current up to a certain limit and then it decreases. The microhardness profile shows a peak hardness in nugget zone and the hardness is lower in the HAZ. The softening of HAZ is mainly attributed to inter-critical heating during welding.