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Characterization and modelling of fracture in press-hardened Ductibor® 1000-AS:Usibor® 1500-AS laser-welded blanks

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Abstract

The application of multi-material laser-welded blanks (LWBs) in automotive bodies has become a useful strategy to improve the crashworthiness of vehicles. Hot-stamped Ductibor® 1000-AS:Usibor® 1500-AS LWBs are potential candidates for application in energy-absorbing structural components of automobiles. The present work focuses on the fracture response of such weldments in both mono- and multi-gauge forms. The gradient in the material properties within the weld zones and parent metals was evaluated through microstructure and microhardness characterization. The weld regions possessed a fully martensitic microstructure with a monotonic decrease in hardness from the stronger (martensitic) Usibor® 1500-AS to the weaker (martensitic) Ductibor® 1000-AS. The fracture behavior was examined by means of uniaxial tension, Nakazima, and tight-radius V-bend tests for various orientations of the weld line relative to the principal loading direction. Fracture occurred in the Usibor® 1500-AS parent metal during most of the 0° tensile and 45° and 90° V-bend tests, while fracture was initiated within the Ductibor® 1000-AS parent metal in all of the 90° tensile and Nakazima tests. A few cases of weld failure were observed in the 0° tensile and 45° and 90° V-bend tests. The 0° V-bend test was the only case where fracture happened within the weld in all of the specimens. Finite-element simulations of the uniaxial tension and Nakazima tests were performed using LS-DYNA, in which the constitutive and fracture properties of the parent metals and weld zone were mapped based upon the measured microhardness. Using this approach, the predicted load-displacement and fracture response of the weldments agreed well with the experimental data. The close correspondence of the model and experiments demonstrated the capability of the hardness-mapped models to predict the mechanical behavior of such hot-stamped LWBs with martensitic microstructures.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Eric Famchon from ArcelorMittal Global R&D Montataire, France, for supplying the laser-welded blanks.

Funding

This research was funded by Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, Promatek Research Centre (Cosma International), ArcelorMittal Dofasco, Automotive Partnerships Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Ontario Research Fund, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, the Ontario Advanced Manufacturing Consortium, and the Canada Research Chairs Secretariat.

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  1. Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Pedram Samadian, Clifford Butcher & Michael J. Worswick

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  1. Pedram Samadian
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  2. Clifford Butcher
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  3. Michael J. Worswick
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All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Conceptualization, methodology, writing, review, and editing for this research were performed by all of the authors. Data curation, analysis, and validation were conducted by PS, and research supervision was performed by CB and MJ.W.

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Correspondence to Pedram Samadian.

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Samadian, P., Butcher, C. & Worswick, M.J. Characterization and modelling of fracture in press-hardened Ductibor® 1000-AS:Usibor® 1500-AS laser-welded blanks. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 130, 3661–3683 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-12875-z

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