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Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Resistance Spot-Welded Steel/Aluminum Alloy Joints with Process Tapes

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Abstract

The microstructure and mechanical property of resistance spot-welded joints of steel and aluminum were studied by using process tapes. The steel/aluminum joint consists mainly of aluminum nugget and interface zone. The liquid nugget solidification has an epitaxial growth characteristic, and the interface zone displays a double-layer structure, Fe2Al5 layer at steel side and Fe4Al13 layer at aluminum nugget side. Compared with joints without process tape, the joint nugget diameter and tensile shear load increased by 35.45 and 10.98%, respectively, and its indentation ratio decreased by 56.25% due to the process tapes increasing heat input, producing larger nugget diameter and continuous interface layer, and protecting against deep indentation. The joining area of intermetallic layer and aluminum nugget is weak link in the joint. It is favorable to use the process tapes for improving welding quality, raising joint strength, and energy saving.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant Number 51275204]. The authors would like to thank Changchun Automobile Industry Institute for the support of welding experiment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jilin University, No. 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun, 130025, People’s Republic of China

    Yingying Che, Lei Wang, Daqian Sun, Hongmei Li & Wenhua Geng

  2. Changchun Automobile Industry Institute, Changchun, 130011, People’s Republic of China

    Lei Wang

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  1. Yingying Che
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  2. Lei Wang
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  3. Daqian Sun
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  4. Hongmei Li
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  5. Wenhua Geng
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Correspondence to Daqian Sun.

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Che, Y., Wang, L., Sun, D. et al. Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Resistance Spot-Welded Steel/Aluminum Alloy Joints with Process Tapes. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 27, 5532–5544 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-018-3595-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-018-3595-0

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