Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effect of Ageing on the Spot Weld Strength of AHSS and the Consequences for Testing Procedures

  • Peer-Reviewed Section
  • Published:
Welding in the World Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Market trends within the automotive industry are leading to an ever-increasing use of high-strength and advanced high-strength steels (AHSS). The attraction of these materials is the advantage of excellent formability, combined with increasingly high tensile strength. It is a well-known fact that weld performance can be an issue with AHSS, where susceptible weld microstructures can lead to low strengths and undesirable failure modes. Much research has been conducted and published on this subject. A less well-documented effect in the weld performance of AHSS is ‘ageing’, whereby a weld exhibits poor mechanical performance immediately after welding, but after a certain period of time, the weld properties improve significantly. In the Corus — SMI research cooperation, this ‘ageing’ effect was first observed in weld samples in 2004, since this time ageing has been a major topic of combined research. This presentation is a summary of the Corus — SMI weld ageing study, highlighting the major issues and characteristics of the effect: the influence of process parameters, the susceptible alloying systems and the possible mechanisms that can cause ageing of the weld. The ‘ageing’ effect has serious implications for standardized testing procedures, where the timescale between welding and testing is not specified, ageing can have a huge influence on the welding results obtained in ageing susceptible materials. The final aspect of this report is to consider the consequences of ageing for weld testing procedures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Vasilash G.S.: Better car building through steel — But not the material you’re familiar with — On Materials, Automotive Design & Production, March, 2002.

  2. Vasilash G.S.: Better vehicles through steel: advances are being made in steel that can lead to better, safer, more fuel-efficient vehicles without taking a huge economic hit — Materials, Automotive Design & Production, April 2003.

  3. den Uijl N.J.: Post weld heat treatment of Advanced High Strength Steel for automotive joining, 8th International Seminar “Numerical Analysis of Weldability”, Seggau, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Chao Y.J.: Failure mode of spot welds: interfacial vs pullout, Science and Technology of Welding and Joining, 2003, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 133–137.

    Google Scholar 

  5. den Uijl N.J., Smith S.: Resistance spot welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for the automotive industry, 4th International Seminar on Advances in Resistance Welding, Wels, Austria, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  6. G. Shi, Westgate S.A.: Resistance spot welding of high strength steels, JOM — Eleventh International Conference on the Joining of Materials, May 25–28, 2003, Helsingor, Denmark.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Shi G., Westgate S.A.: TRIP steel — Better weldability using resistance spot welding, TWI bulletin, 2007.

  8. Marya M., Gayden X.Q.: Development of requirements for resistance spot welding Dual-Phase (DP600) Steels Part 1: The causes of interfacial fracture, Welding Journal, November 2005, vol. 84, no. 11, pp. 172–s–182–s.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Marya M., Gayden X.Q.: Development of requirements for resistance spot welding Dual-Phase (DP600) Steels Part 2: Statistical Analyses and Process Maps, Welding Journal, December 2005, vol. 84, no. 12, pp. 197–s–204–s.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Verstraeten B., Feyaerts J.: Weerstandslassen van hogesterkte staalsoorten, Resistance welding of high-strength steels, Lastechniek, December 2006 (in Dutch).

  11. Easterling K.: Introduction to the physical metallurgy of welding 2nd ed., Butterworth Heinemann, ISBN 0 7506 0394 1, 1992.

  12. den Uijl N.J.: Modelling the influence of resistance spot welding on material properties, 3rd International Conference on Mathematical Modelling and Information Technologies in Welding and Related Processes, Kiev, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  13. N.J. den Uijl, H. Nishibata, S. Smith, T. Okada, T. van der Veldt, M. Uchihara, K. Fukui: Prediction of post weld hardness of advanced high strength steels for automotive application using a dedicated carbon equivalent number, IIW Doc. III-1444–07, Presented at the Annual Assembly 2007, Commission III Resistance welding, solid state welding and allied joining processes, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2–4 July, 2007.

  14. IIW Technical Report, IIW doc. IX-535–67, June 5, 1967.

  15. Ito Y., Bessyo K.: Weldability formula of high strength steel related to heat affected zone cracking, Journal of Japanese Welding Society, 1968, vol. 37, no. 9, pp. 938.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Blondeau R., Maynier Ph., Dollet J.: Prévision de la dureté et de la résistance des aciers au carbone et faiblement alliés d’après leur structure et leur composition, Prediction of hardness and resistance of carbon an low alloy steels depending on their structure and composition, Mémoires Scientifiques Revue Métallurgie, 1973, LXX, no. 12 (in French).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Blondeau R., Maynier Ph., Dollet J., Vieillard-Baron B.: Prévision de la dureté et de la résistance des aciers au carbone et faiblement alliés d’après leur composition et leur traitement thermique, Prediction of hardness and resistance of carbon an low alloy steels depending on their structure and heat treatment, Mémoires Scientifiques Revue Métallurgie, Novembre 1975 (in French).

  18. Chaillet J.M., Chevet F., Bocquet P., Dollet J.: Prediction of the microstructure and tensile properties of weld metal deposits, Welding of HSLA (microalloyed) structural steels, Proceedings of an International Conference, 9–12 November 1976, Rome, Italy, pp. 298–321.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Porter D.A., Easterling K.E.: Phase transformations in metals and alloys, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981.

  20. Andrews K.W.: Empirical formulae for the calculation of some transformation temperatures, Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, 1965, vol. 203, Part 7.

  21. Koistinen D.P., Marburger R.E.: A general equation prescribing the extent of the austenite-martensite transformation in pure iron-carbon alloys and plain carbon steels, Acta Metallurgica, 1959, Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 59–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Steven W., Haynes A.G.: The temperature of formation of martensite and bainite in low alloy steels, Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, 1956, Vol. 183, pp. 349–359.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Gould J.E., Khurana S.E., Li T.: Predictions of microstructures when welding automotive advanced high-strength steels, Welding Journal Research Supplement, 2006, vol. 85, no. 5, pp. 111s–116s.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Gould J.E.: Weld process effects cracking — Hold time sensitivity and RSW of high strength steel, Welding Design and Fabrication, 1999, Vol. 8, pp. 48–49.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Westgate S.: The resistance spot welding of high and ultra-high strength steels, Proceedings of the 3rd International Seminar on Advances in Resistance Welding, Berlin, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Mimer M., Svensson L-E., Johansson R.: Possibilities to improve fracture behaviour in resistance spot welds of EHSS and UHSS by process modifications, Proceedings of the 3rd International Seminar on Advances in Resistance Welding, Berlin, 2004.

  27. Radaj D.: Heat effects of welding — Temperature field, residual stress, distortion, ISBN 0-387-54820–3, Springer-Verlag, 1992.

  28. Mantell C.L. (ed.): Engineering Materials Handbook 1st ed., Mc Graw-Hill, 1958.

  29. Chandler H.: Metallurgy for the Nion-Metallurgist, ASM International, ISBN 0-87170-652–0, 1998.

  30. Sawhill J.M. Jr., Baker J.C.: Spot weldability of high strength sheet steels, AWS annual meeting, Detroit, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Mohrbacher H.: Welding of automotive high strength steel from a Nb microalloying point of view, Automotive Circle International — Conference, Bad Nauheim/Frankfurt, Germany, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Mohrbacher H.: Joining state-of-the-art high strength steels — Influences and optimisation from a metallurgical poit of view, Automotive Circle International — Conference, Bad Nauheim/Frankfurt, Germany, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Bain E.C.: Functions of the alloying elements in steel, A series of five educational lectures on the functions of the alloying elements in steel presented to members of the A.S.M. during the twenty first national metal congress and exposition, Chicago, Illinois, October 23 to 27, 1939.

  34. Pickering F.B.: Physical metallurgy of stainless steel developments, International Metallurgical Reviews, 1976, Vol. 21, pp. 227–268.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Neely J.: Practical Metallurgy and Materials of Industry, John Wiley and Sons, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Bhadeshia H.K.D.H.: Tempered Martensite, www.msm.cam.ac.uk/phase-trans/2004/Tempered.Martensite/tempered.martensite.html, accessed June 8, 2008.

  37. ISO 14329:2003: Resistance welding — Destructive tests of welds — Failure types and geometric measurements for resistance spot, seam and projection welds.

  38. ISO 14272:2000: Specimen dimensions and procedure for cross tension testing resistance spot and embossed projection welds.

  39. Failure analysis and prevention, volume 8, Metal handbook volume 10, H.E. Boyer (ed.), ASM Handbook committee, 1975.

  40. Park Y.D., Maroef I.S., Landau A., Olson L.: Retained austenite as a hydrogen trap in steel welds, Welding Journal Research Supplement, February, 2002, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 27–s–35–s.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Corus RD&T, IJmuiden, The Netherlands

    Sullivan Smith &  Nick J. den Uijl

  2. Sumitomo Metal Industries, Hyogo, Japan

    Torhu Okada,  Tony van der Veldt &  Masato Uchihara

  3. Sumitomo Metal Industries, Tokyo, Japan

    Kiyoyuki Fukui

Authors
  1. Sullivan Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nick J. den Uijl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Torhu Okada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tony van der Veldt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Masato Uchihara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kiyoyuki Fukui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sullivan Smith, Nick J. den Uijl, Torhu Okada, Tony van der Veldt, Masato Uchihara or Kiyoyuki Fukui.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Smith, S., den Uijl, N.J., Okada, T. et al. The Effect of Ageing on the Spot Weld Strength of AHSS and the Consequences for Testing Procedures. Weld World 54, R12–R26 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03263480

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03263480

IIW-Thesaurus keywords

Search

Navigation