STATIC TENSILE STRENGTH AND PROCESS OPTIMIZATION OF GAS METAL ARC WELDING (GMAW) FOR 1.5 MM ELECTRO-GALVANIZED TRANSFORMATION INDUCED PLASTICITY 780 (TRIP780) STEEL JOINT FOR AUTOMOTIVE BODY STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS

摘要

With the increasing demand for safety, energy saving and emission reduction, Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) have become very attractive steels for automobile makers. The usage of AHSS steels is projected to grow significantly in the next 5-10 years with new safety and fuel economy regulations. These new steels have significant manufacturing challenges, particularly for welding and stamping. Welding of AHSS remains one of the technical challenges in the successful application of AHSS in automobile structures due to Heat affected Zones (HAZ) at the weld joint. In this study Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) of a lap joint configuration consisting of 1.5 mm Electro Galvanized (EG) Transformation Induced Plasticity 780 (TRIP780) to itself was investigated. The objective of the study was to understand the wire feed rate and torch speed influence on lap joint strength. Design of Experiments (DOE) was conducted to understand the wire feed and torch speed influence on tensile strength. Based on the statistical analysis, wire feed rate and torch speed were significant factors on static tensile strength. Two way interaction effect between wire feed and torch speed was significant. Metallurgical properties of the lap joints were evaluated using optical microscopy. No significant drop in hardness at HAZ, however, significant hardening was observed at the base metal and weld fillet interface.