On Spot Weld Modeling in Vehicle Numerical Simulation: Types, Differences and Advantages

The purpose of this work consists in comparing the several ways for modeling spot welded joints considering the following parameters: time for modeling the joints, future need of spot welds analysis, sheet stress level, compatibility between the finite elements meshes of each connected sheet, and modes and natural frequencies. Static and dynamic analyses are performed on a welded tube. A comparison table is built, based on the obtained results and studied parameters, from which it is possible to determine the most suitable element to be applied to a given numerical simulation.