Investigation of electrical resistance spot welding using finite element analysis

The resistance spot welding is widely used in industry especially in automotive industry where the trend is ultra-high strength steels. Since the experimental testing methods are costly, computer-aided numerical methods are essential for quickly and cost effectively identify optimum parameters in RSW. In this thesis, resistance spot welding of ultra-high strength steel MS1500 will be investigated from various aspects using electro-thermo-mechanical coupled finite element analysis. The expulsion limits and optimal nugget growth parameters obtained from finite element analysis will be compared with experimental results. Additionally, the effect of temperature change rates resulting from the resistance spot welding process will be examined.