Reconstruction of Current Density Distribution in Weld Area During Resistance Spot Welding of Aluminum Alloy Based on Magnetic Field

Magnetic flux density around the weld area was used to reconstruct the current density distribution during resistance spot welding(RSW) of aluminum alloy according to inverse problem theory. A current-magnetic field model was established and the conjugate gradient method was used to solve this model. The results showed that the current density was low at the center of nugget while high on the edge of nugget. Moreover, the welding time of 30ms—60 ms is a key period for nucleation. The current density distribution can reflect whether the weld nugget is formed or splashed, therefore it has the potential to monitor the weld quality of RSW.     

Numerical and Experimental Study on Nugget Formation Process in Resistance Spot Welding of Aluminum Alloy

The weld nugget formation in the resistance spot welding(RSW) of aluminum alloy was investigated in the present study. The nugget formation process was directly observed by using a digital high-speed camera. Numerical simulation was also employed to investigate the nugget formation process. The results showed that for the RSW of two aluminum alloy sheets, a nugget was first formed in the workpiece/workpiece(W/W) interface and grew along the radial direction and axial direction of the sheets, and then it became a large elliptical nugget. For the RSW of three aluminum alloy sheets, two small nuggets were firstly formed in two W/W interfaces and grew along the axial direction and radial direction; finally they fused into one nugget. Besides, there existed a critical welding time, after which the nugget size remained nearly unchanged. This indicates that a long welding time is unnecessary for the RSW of aluminum alloy. In addition, the calculated nugget radius was compared with the experimental results, which showed that the simulation results agreed well with the experimental results.