GAS METAL ARC WELDING (GMAW) PROCESS OPTIMIZATION FOR UNCOATED DUAL PHASE 600 MATERIAL COMBINATION WITH ALUMINIZED COATED AND UNCOATED BORON STEELS 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 as new safety and fuel economy regulations are enacted. These new steels pose 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, especially when durability of the welded structures is required. In this paper, Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) of uncoated DP 600 and boron (coated and uncoated boron) steels were investigated. In the first study, 2.0 mm DP 600 and 2.0 mm uncoated boron lap joints (Joint #1 and #2) were investigated. In the second study, 1.00 mm DP 600 and 2.0 mm USIBOR (aluminized coated boron) lap joints (Joint # 3 and #4) were investigated. Static and fatigue tests were conducted on the four joint configurations. The effects of steel stack-ups and microhardness distribution along the tensile stress flow direction of the joints on fatigue performance defined by fatigue life as well as crack initiation site and propagation path were analyzed. Metallurgical properties of the dissimilar metal lap joints were evaluated using optical microscopy. The boron steel shows a significant drop in hardness at the heat affected zone (HAZ) as compared to the DP600 steel side. It was found that for the 2.0 mm DP600 and 2.0 mm boron steel dissimilar joint, fatigue life of the joint is better when boron steel was on the top of the joint (Joint #2). However, in the case of 1.0 mm DP 600 and 2.0 mm USIBOR lap joint, the fatigue life of the joint is better when 1.0 mm DP 600 was on the top of the joint (Joint # 3). Ductility of boron steel and significant HAZ softening in boron steel are believed to be the key factors for the fatigue failure at the boron steel side (in all four joint configurations)