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Improvement of Fatigue Life in Post-Weld Cold Worked Aluminum Resistant Spot Welds
Technical Paper
2005-03-0234
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
Aluminum Resistance Spot Weld (Al RSW) is an enabling technology for body assembly of low mass fraction vehicles. Due to the unreliable durability of weld-bonded joints, applications of Al RSW are limited. This study presents experimental investigation on the use of a post-weld, cold-working process to improve the fatigue strength of Al RSW. The post-weld, cold-working process includes special shaped indenters that are pressed or driven into the structure to induce compressive residual stresses. The mechanical properties of the post-weld, cold-worked Al RSW were investigated, including the experimental results of fatigue and micro-hardness tests. The effect of the post-weld, cold-working process on the fatigue strength of the Al RSW was investigated. Comparisons of the mechanical properties and qualitative results between the as-welded RSW specimens and the post-weld, cold-worked RSW specimens are discussed.