Mechanical and fatigue behaviour of laser and resistance spot welds in advanced high strength steels

Abstract

A study was carried out on laser and resistance spot welds in overlapped sheets of dual phase advanced high strength steel (DP780) and deep drawing steel (DC04) of 2˙0 mm in thickness. The aim of the study was to investigate the fatigue performance of these joints under tensile shear loading as well as the monotonic performance for applications in the automotive industry. The mechanical properties, failure behaviour and fatigue life analyses of spot welds in similar and dissimilar joints were investigated by experimental and numerical methods. The structural stress concept was used to describe the fatigue lives of spot welded specimens. The results revealed different failure types with different fatigue behaviours for laser and resistance spot welds under the application of cyclic loads at 'high load' and 'low load' levels.     

Dynamic characteristics of adhesive bonded high strength steel joints

Abstract

With an increase in the use of advanced high strength steels in vehicle architectures, materials joining issues have become increasingly important. Among the various joining methods, adhesive bonding is increasingly used in automobile manufacturing. Successful implementation of adhesive bonding to improve structural crashworthiness and reduce vehicle weight requires the knowledge of issues related not only to processing but also to joint performance. In this study, the impact strength of adhesive bonded high strength steel joints is evaluated with the split Hopkinson tension bar (SHTB) technique. The influences of loading speed and thickness of the steels on the shear strength of the joints were examined. Comparative quasi-static lap shear tests were also conducted on a tensile testing machine. Test results showed that strength and energy absorption of bonded steel joints increase with loading speed, and is greatly affected by the thickness of the steels. As the loading rates are increased to 1100 s^–1 (i.e. 20 m s^–1), bonded 0·75 mm thick DP600 steel shows a 152% increase in strength and an 83% increase in energy absorption when compared to its quasi-static values. Examination of the impact tested specimens showed the failure mode changes from coarse cohesive mode to fine cohesive mode with increasing loading speed. The results from this study will provide the information for a better understanding of impact failure mechanisms of adhesive bonded high strength steels.     

Influence of chromium additions on corrosion resistance of Co75·5Si13·5B9 Nb3Cu1 metallic glass in marine environment

Abstract

This study addressed the influence of Cr concentration on the corrosion resistance of Co_73·5Si_{13 ·5}B₉Nb₃Cu₁ metallic glass in simulated marine atmospheres with 1000 ppm of chlorides. Anodic and cyclic polarisation measurements were carried out to study the susceptibility to passivation and localised corrosion. The corrosion kinetics were analysed using dc electrochemical techniques. Every test was conducted using the same material in different states: amorphous, nanocrystalline and crystalline. The study also focused on changes in the magnetic properties of the material as a result of Cr addition and exposure to an aggressive medium. These properties depend mainly on the Cr concentration and the material state (amorphous, crystalline or nanocrystalline).     

Optimum design of co-cured steel–composite tubular single lap joints under axial load

In this paper, an optimum design method for co-cured steel-composite tubular single lap joints under axial load is proposed based on a failure model which incorporates the nonlinear mechanical behavior of the steel adherend and the failure mode of joints such as composite adherend failure and steel adherend failure. The design parameters considered were the test temperature, the stacking sequence of the composite adherends, the thickness ratio of the steel adherend to the composite adherend, and the existence of scarf in the steel adherend. Stress analysis of the cocured steel-composite tubular single lap joints was performed considering the nonlinear mechanical behavior of the steel adherend, and the fabrication residual thermal stress and thermal degradation of the composite adherend. The method developed may be employed in the joining of hybrid composite structures such as golf clubs and automotive composite propeller shafts in which a carbon/epoxy shaft has normally been bonded to a metal shaft with epoxy adhesives.     

Tensile load-bearing capacity of co-cured double lap joints

The co-cured joining method has several advantages over the adhesively bonded joining method because both the curing and the joining processes for the composite structures are achieved simultaneously. In this study, the tensile load-bearing capacities of co-cured double lap joints were investigated experimentally and compared with the analytical results calculated by finite element analysis. Co-cured double lap joint specimens with several bond parameters such as bond length, surface roughness, and stacking sequence of the composite laminate were fabricated and tested. From the experimental results, it was found that the failure mechanism of the co-cured double lap joint was cohesive failure by delamination at the first ply of the composite laminate in the co-cured double lap joint. Finally, optimum values of several bond parameters were determined. Analytical tensile load-bearing capacities of the co-cured double lap joints were calculated by the three-dimensional Tsai-Wu failure criterion using stress distributions obtained from finite element analysis.     

Single Lap Joints with Rounded Adherend Corners: Experimental Results and Strength Prediction

The objective of the present study was to better understand the effect of the change in the geometry of the adherend corners on the stress distribution in single lap joints and, therefore, on the joint strength. Various degrees of rounding were studied and two different types of adhesives were used: one very brittle and another which had a large plastic deformation. Experimental results on the strength of joints with different degrees of rounding are presented. For joints bonded with brittle adhesives, the effect of the rounded adherend corners is larger than that with ductile adhesives. The strength of joints with brittle adhesives with a large radius adherend corner increases by about 40% compared to that with a sharp adherend corner. It is shown that for joints bonded with brittle adhesives, crack propagation occurs for a short period before it grows into catastrophic failure. However, for ductile adhesives, there is large adhesive yielding and small crack propagation before final failure. Another important feature of joints bonded with ductile adhesives is that there may be more than one crack in the adhesive layer before failure. This makes strength predictions more difficult. The second part of the paper presents an approximate method for predicting the strength of joints bonded with brittle and ductile adhesives, with and without adherend corner rounding. The predictions, based on an average value around the singularity, compare well with the experimental results, especially for joints bonded with ductile adhesives.     

Modeling of cohesive failure processes in structural adhesive bonded joints

This paper presents an approach to predicting the strength of joints bonded by structural adhesives using a finite element method. The material properties of a commercial structural adhesive and the strength of single-lap joints and scarf joints of aluminum bonded by this adhesive were experimentally measured to provide input for and comparison with the finite element model. Criteria based on maximum strain and stress were used to characterize the cohesive failure within the adhesive and adherend failure observed in this study. In addition to its simplicity, the approach described in this paper is capable of analyzing the entire deformation and failure process of adhesive joints in which different fracture modes may dominate and both adhesive and adherends may undergo inelastic deformation. It was shown that the finite element predictions of the joint strength generally agreed well with the experimental measurements.     

Effects of blending and coating methods on the performance of SIS (styrene-isoprene-styrene)-based pressure-sensitive adhesives

SIS (styrene-isoprene-styrene)-based pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) were prepared by melt- or solution-blending. In the coating process, two methods were used: solution coating and melt coating. The performances of the PSAs were found to be different, depending on which of these two blending or coating methods was used. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the viscoelastic properties and the performances of the SIS-based PSAs using different blending and coating methods. Three methods were used: (1) melt-blending and melt-coating, (2) melt-blending and solution-coating and (3) solution-blending and solution-coating. PSAs applied using melt-blending/melt-coating (M—M) have higher peel strength and probe tack than PSAs applied using melt-blending/solution-coating (M—S) and solution blending/solution coating (S—S). However, PSAs applied using M—M blends have lower holding power and SAFT (Shear adhesion failure temperature) than PSAs applied using M—S and S—S blends. The viscoelastic properties and GPC curves of M—S blends were similar to M-M blends, while the peel strength and tack of M—S blends were similar to S—S blends. Therefore, it was concluded that the blending process had more effect on the viscoelastic properties and shear creep of PSAs than the coating process.     

Viscoelastic properties and lap shear strength of EVA/aromatic hydrocarbon resins as hot-melt adhesives

A series of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers were blended with aromatic hydrocarbon resins in the molten state in various ratios and possible relations between viscoelastic and adhesion properties as hot-melt adhesives (HMAs) were investigated. When the softening point of aromatic hydrocarbon resin was high and the concentration of aromatic hydrocarbon resin was low, the tan δ peak height decreased and broadened. This result corresponds to the miscibility of the blend. The single lap shear strength increased with increasing softening point of the aromatic hydrocarbon resin and it reached a maximum value with increasing temperature. A large scatter was observed in lap shear strength values, which were higher at higher test rates and lower temperatures, and under these conditions interfacial failure occurred.     

Surface modification of Teflon® PFA with vacuum UV photo-oxidation

Surface modification of poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-perfluoropropyl vinyl ether) (PFA) with vacuum UV (VUV) photo-oxidation using radiation from excited Ar atoms downstream from an Ar microwave (MW) plasma shows: (1) an improvement in wettability as observed by water contactangle measurements; (2) surface roughening; (3) incorporation of oxygen as C=O, CF—O—CF₂ and CF₂—O—CF₂ moieties and (4) enhancement of the CF—O—C _n F_2n+1 concentration. Adhesion measurements of Cu sputter coated onto the photo-oxidized PFA surface results in failure within the PFA (cohesive failure) and not at the Cu–PFA interface.