Correlating Electrode Degradation with Weldability of Galvanized BH 220 Steel during the Electrode Failure Process of Resistance Spot Welding
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- Most of the previous work on BH steels only deals with welded joint properties such as tensile strength, microhardness, weld geometry, and microstructure. During continuous welding of galvanized BH steel, the relationship between the electrode deterioration process and the welding quality of welded joints has not been studied in detail.
- The nugget diameter, heat-affected zone (HAZ) width, HAZ height, peak load, failure energy, maximum displacement, and failure mode of the weld are the main quality characteristics of the welded joint [20]. During the electrode degradation process, material properties such as hardness, tensile strength, and toughness change. Weld quality is a function of electrode life. Therefore, establishing an accurate prediction model is crucial for welding quality evaluation in the process of electrode deterioration.
- Section 2 details the experiments and tests, as well as the hardware required for the experiments, measurements, and processing of the data.
- Section 3.1 discusses the microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joints obtained by the new electrodes. Section 3.2.1 introduces the mechanical performance and geometry of the welded joints with the increasing number of welding operations. Section 3.2.2 and Section 3.2.3 respectively, study the geometry and alloying process of the electrodes with the increasing number of welding operations. Furthermore, the effects of these changes on the welding quality are also discussed in this section.
- Section 4 displays the most significant conclusions of this manuscript.
2. Experimental Detail
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. The Characteristics of the Welded Joints Obtained by the 1st Welding Operation
3.2. Electrode Life Assessment
3.2.1. Changes in Welding Properties with the Increasing Number of Welding Operations
3.2.2. Evaluation of the Changes in Electrode Diameter with the Increasing Number of Welding Operations
3.2.3. Electrode Degradation Behaviour and Alloy Layer Analysis with the Increasing Number of Welding Operations
4. Conclusions
- (1)
- The 1st welded joint is produced by the welding current of 8.4 kA with the welding time of 20 cycles, and electrode pressure of 0.3 MPa displays good welding quality. Its peak load is 12.43 kN, the maximum displacement is 5.36 mm, and the failure energy is 56.39 J. Its HAZ width is 6.62 mm, with the nugget height of 2 mm, the nugget diameter of 5.83 mm, and nugget area of 11.58 mm2. The microstructure in the FZ consists of lath martensite, polygonal ferrite, grain boundary ferrite, Widmanstatten ferrite, and bainite.
- (2)
- The obtained regression models correlating the weld number with the mechanical properties of the welded joints indicate that they also decrease with the weld numbers. The peak load of the 704th weld reduces to 41.19% of the initial strength.
- (3)
- The electrode diameter displays a parabolic functional relationship with the weld number and its Adj R2 is 0.9855. The percentage of Cu on the surface of the electrode decreases from 97.51% to 28.44%, while the percentages of O, Fe, and Zn increase a lot.
- (4)
- The weld attributes of the welded joints produced by the welding current of 9 kA and the deteriorated electrodes are close to those of the 440th welded joint, while the welding quality of the weld produced by the welding current of 9.6 kA with the deteriorated electrodes is comparable to that of the 1st weld.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Chemical Compositions | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Mn | Ti | Al | Si | Cu | p | S |
0.03 | 0.24 | ≤0.12 | 0.044 | 0.01 | ≤0.2 | 0.009 | 0.015 |
Mechanical Properties | Zn Coating | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Yield Strength/Rp0.2 (MPa) | Tensile Strength/Rm (MPa) | Elongation/A80 (%) | Thickness/t (µm) | Mass/m (g/m2) |
330 | 450 | 39 | 14 | 199.60 |
No. | Welding Current | Welding Time | Electrode Force | Tensile Strength | Maximum Displacement | Failure Energy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
kA | Cycle | Mpa | kN | mm | J | |
1 | 7.2 | 10 | 0.3 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.001 |
2 | 10.8 | 10 | 0.3 | 4.26 | 11.75 | 43.12 |
3 | 7.2 | 24 | 0.3 | 0.73 | 8.03 | 3.25 |
4 | 10.8 | 24 | 0.3 | 4.61 | 12.24 | 47.97 |
5 | 7.2 | 17 | 0.2 | 0.54 | 6.94 | 2.51 |
6 | 10.8 | 17 | 0.2 | 4.59 | 11.84 | 48.3 |
7 | 7.2 | 17 | 0.4 | 0.11 | 2.21 | 0.15 |
8 | 10.8 | 17 | 0.4 | 4.96 | 12.45 | 54.47 |
9 | 9 | 10 | 0.2 | 1.11 | 8.98 | 7.37 |
10 | 9 | 10 | 0.4 | 0.26 | 4.61 | 0.70 |
11 | 9 | 17 | 0.3 | 4.31 | 11.82 | 43.60 |
12 | 8.4 | 20 | 0.3 | 5.36 | 12.43 | 56.39 |
Elements | O | Fe | Cu | Zn |
---|---|---|---|---|
The electrode of the 1st weld | 1.32 | 0.08 | 97.51 | 0.01 |
Electrode centre of the 704th weld | 13.11 | 1.33 | 48.74 | 33.24 |
Electrode edge of the 704th weld | 14.80 | 4.84 | 8.14 | 63.36 |
The average value for the electrode of the 704th weld | 13.96 | 3.085 | 28.44 | 48.30 |
Welded Joints | W | H | D | A | L | P | E |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mm | mm | mm | mm2 | mm | kN | J | |
9 kA | 5.63 | 2.21 | 4.43 | 8.14 | 3.23 | 11.24 | 30.72 |
9.6 kA | 5.92 | 2.20 | 4.79 | 9.07 | 5.96 | 13.30 | 69.27 |
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Zhao, D.; Vdonin, N.; Bezgans, Y.; Radionova, L.; Glebov, L. Correlating Electrode Degradation with Weldability of Galvanized BH 220 Steel during the Electrode Failure Process of Resistance Spot Welding. Crystals 2023, 13, 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13010039
Zhao D, Vdonin N, Bezgans Y, Radionova L, Glebov L. Correlating Electrode Degradation with Weldability of Galvanized BH 220 Steel during the Electrode Failure Process of Resistance Spot Welding. Crystals. 2023; 13(1):39. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13010039
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhao, Dawei, Nikita Vdonin, Yuriy Bezgans, Lyudmila Radionova, and Lev Glebov. 2023. "Correlating Electrode Degradation with Weldability of Galvanized BH 220 Steel during the Electrode Failure Process of Resistance Spot Welding" Crystals 13, no. 1: 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13010039