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This paper studied the process development of dissimilar clinch joints in cross-tension specimens of aluminum alloy 5052-H32 (AA5052-H32)/thermoplastic carbon fiber reinforced plastic (TP-CFRP) sheets. The AA5052-H32 and TP-CFRP sheets with a thickness of 1.6 mm were used. The important processing parameters for AA5052/TP-CFRP clinch joints, such as the punching load, heating mode, heating temperature, and die depth, were considered. The failure loads, failure modes, and metallographic micrographs of AA5052/TP-CFRP clinch joints were analyzed to determine an available processing parameter set for fatigue tests. Finally, the fatigue performance and failure mode of AA5052/TP-CFRP clinch joints were obtained.

Local stress intensity factors (LSIFs) for kinked cracks of spot welds in four specimens, lap-shear, cross-tension, U-shaped, and coach-peel, were studied by three-dimensional finite element analyses. Finite element models for spot welds without and with kinked cracks were developed. Semi-elliptical cracks with various kinked crack lengths were assumed. Two dominant cracking modes for each specimen were considered. The global stress intensity factor (GSIF) solutions for spot welds without kinked cracks were first obtained to determine the analytical LSIF solutions for spot welds with infinitesimal kinked cracks. The LSIF solutions for spot welds with finite kinked cracks were then obtained. The LSIF solutions of the four specimens show similar general trends. As kinked crack length increases, the mode I LSIF solutions gradually increase and then decrease, while the mode II LSIF solutions show inverse trends.

This research work presented the process development for dissimilar clinch joints in aluminum alloy 5052-H32 (AA5052-H32 or Al) and thermoplastic carbon fiber reinforced plastic (TP-CFRP or CFRP) sheets. For process analysis, AA5052-H32 and TP-CFRP sheets with a thickness of 1.6 mm were taken. The design of the punch and die were examined by tensile tests and metallographic micrographs. The influence of punching force on the process was studied as well. One appropriate process setup of the punch, die and punching force was determined. Finally, the feasibility of the Al/CFRP clinching process was confirmed.

Fatigue analysis of swept friction stir clinch (Swept-FSC) joints between 6061-T6 aluminum (Al) and S45C steel (Fe) sheets was conducted through experimental approaches. Before fatigue tests, a parametric study for the probe geometry of FSC tools was conducted in order to eliminate the hook structure inside the joint and improve the mechanical performance of the joint. Then a series of quasi-static and fatigue tests for Al/Fe Swept-FSC joints in lap-shear (LP) and cross-tension (CT) specimens were conducted. The fatigue data were recorded. The fatigue behavior of Al/Fe Swept-FSC joints in LP and CT specimens were examined through optical and scanning electron microscopes. Experimental results indicated that LP specimens have two failure modes, while CT specimens have only one failure mode. The dominant fatigue crack of each failure mode was identified.

A concept of combining friction stir spot welding (FSSW) and clinching, denoted as friction stir clinching (FSC), was proposed to join alclad 2024-T3 aluminum sheets. A tool, having a smooth probe and a flat shoulder, and a die, having a circular cavity and a round groove, were used to make FSC joints. The failure loads and fatigue lives of FSC joints made by various punching depths, rotational speeds, and dwelling times, were evaluated to obtain the admissible processing parameters. Optical micrographs of the FSC joints, before and after failure, were examined to understand the effects of processing parameters on the mechanical interlock and alclad layer distribution, which strongly correlate to the failure load, failure mode, and fatigue life of FSC joints. Finally, the static and fatigue performance of FSC joints made by the admissible processing parameters was obtained. The feasibility of the FSC process for alclad 2024-T3 aluminum sheets was confirmed.

In this paper, failure modes of dissimilar laser welds in lap-shear specimens of low carbon steel and high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel sheets are investigated based on experimental observations. Micro-hardness tests across the weld zones of dissimilar laser welds were conducted. The hardness values of the fusion zones and heat affected zones are significantly higher than those of the base metals. The fatigue lives and the corresponding failure modes of laser welds as functions of the load ranges are then examined. Optical micrographs of the laser welds before and after failure under quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions are then examined. The failure modes and fatigue behaviors of the laser welds under different loading conditions are different. Under quasi-static loading conditions, a necking failure occurred in the upper low carbon steel sheet far away from the laser weld.

Fatigue behavior of self-piercing rivets (SPRs) and clinch joints in lap-shear specimens of 6111-T4 aluminum sheets is investigated based on experimental observations and a fatigue life estimation model. Lap-shear specimens with SRPs and clinch joints were tested under cyclic loading conditions. Under cyclic loading conditions, fatigue cracks start from the curved interfacial surface of the upper sheet and then grow into the upper sheet thickness for both self-piercing rivets and clinch joints. The self-piercing rivets and clinch joints fail finally through the circumferential/transverse crack growth in the upper sheets and inner button crack growth, respectively. The structural stress solution and the experimental stress-life data for aluminum 6111-T4 sheets are adopted to estimate the fatigue lives of both types of joints. The fatigue life estimations based on the structural stress model show good agreement with the experimental results.

Failure modes of spot friction welds in cross-tension specimens of aluminum 6061-T6 sheets are first investigated based on experimental observations. Optical and scanning electron micrographs of the welds before and after failure under quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions are examined. Experimental results show that the failure modes of the welds under quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions are quite different. Under quasi-static loading conditions, the failure mainly starts from the necking of the upper sheet outside the weld. Under low-cycle loading conditions, the dominant fatigue cracks are the kinked cracks growing into the upper sheet from the crack tips; hence, the upper nugget pullout failure mode can be seen. Under high-cycle loading conditions, the dominant fatigue cracks are kinked cracks growing into the lower sheet from the crack tips; subsequently, the lower nugget pullout failure mode can be seen.

Effects of tool geometry on mechanical properties of spot friction welds in lap-shear specimens of 6061-T6 aluminum sheets are investigated based on experimental observations. Three tools with shoulder diameters of 8 mm (small), 10 mm (medium) and 12 mm (large) were used to join aluminum sheets, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the failure strengths of the welds show significant dependence on the tool size. Optical and scanning electron micrographs of the welds made by three tools before and after failure were examined and micro indentation tests of these welds were conducted. The results show that the weld geometry, microstructure distributions and micro hardness distributions of the three welds are quite similar. However, the material flow trends of these welds appear to be quite different. The small and medium failed welds show the circumferential/shear failure mode and the large failed weld shows the nugget pullout failure mode.

In this paper, the stress intensity factor solutions for spot welds in U-shape specimens are investigated by finite element analyses. Three-dimensional finite element models are developed for U-shape specimens to obtain accurate stress intensity factor solutions. In contrast to the existing investigations of the stress intensity factor solutions based on the finite element analyses, various ratios of the sheet thickness to the nugget radius, the half width of the central square portions to the nugget radius and the half specimen length to the half specimen width are considered in this investigation. The computational results confirm the functional dependence on the nugget radius and sheet thickness of Zhang’s stress intensity factor solutions for U-shape specimens.

The theoretical framework and closed-form stress intensity factor solutions in terms of the structural stresses for spot welds under various types of loading conditions are presented based on elasticity theories and fracture mechanics. A mechanics description of loading conditions for a finite plate with a rigid inclusion is first presented. The loading conditions of interest are the resultant loads on the inclusion in a plate and the surface tractions on the lateral surface of a plate. The surface tractions on the lateral surface of the plate can be decomposed into a load-balanced part and a self-balanced part. The resultant loads on the inclusion and the self-balanced resultant loads on the lateral surface are then decomposed into various types of symmetric and anti-symmetric parts. Based on the elasticity theories, closed-form moment, force and stress solutions are derived for a plate with a rigid inclusion subjected to various types of loading conditions.

Closed-form stress intensity factor solutions at the critical locations of spot welds in four types of commonly used specimens are obtained based on elasticity theories and fracture mechanics. The loading conditions for spot welds in the central parts of four types of specimens are first examined. The resultant loads on the weld nugget and the self-balanced resultant loads on the lateral surface of the central parts of the specimens are then decomposed into various types of symmetric and anti-symmetric parts. Closed-form structural stress and stress intensity factor solutions for spot welds under various types of loading conditions are then adopted from a recent work of Lin and Pan to derive new closed-form stress intensity factor solutions at the critical locations of spot welds in the four types of specimens.

In this investigation, spot friction welds in aluminum 6111-T4 lap-shear specimens were tested under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Micrographs of the spot friction welds after testing were examined to understand the failure modes of spot friction welds in lap-shear specimens under different loading conditions. The micrographs indicate that the spot friction welds produced by this particular set of welding parameters failed in interfacial failure mode under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. The load and displacement histories for lap-shear specimens were obtained under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions at three different impact velocities. The failure loads of spot friction welds in lap-shear specimens under dynamic loading conditions are about 7% larger than those under quasi-static loading conditions.

A fatigue crack growth model is adopted in this paper to investigate the fatigue lives of resistance spot welds in square-cup and lap-shear specimens of dual phase, low carbon and high strength steels under cyclic loading conditions. The fatigue crack growth model is based on the global stress intensity factor solutions for main cracks, the local stress intensity factor solutions for kinked cracks as functions of the kink length, the experimentally determined kink angles, and the Paris law for kinked crack propagation. The predicted fatigue lives based on the fatigue crack growth model are then compared with the experimental data. The results indicate that the fatigue life predictions based on the fatigue crack growth model are in agreement with or lower than the experimental results.

Fatigue failures of spot friction welds in lap-shear specimens of aluminum 6111-T4 sheets under cyclic loading conditions are investigated in this paper. The paths of fatigue cracks near the spot friction welds are first discussed. A fatigue crack growth model based on the Paris law for crack propagation and the global and local stress intensity factors for kinked cracks is then adopted to predict the fatigue lives of these spot friction welds. The global stress intensity factors and the local stress intensity factors based on the recent published works for resistance spot welds in lap-shear specimens are used to estimate the local stress intensity factors for kinked cracks with experimentally determined kink angles. The results indicate that the fatigue life predictions based on the Paris law and the local stress intensity factors as functions of the kink length agree well with the experimental results.

The analytic solution of the mode I stress intensity factor for spot welds in lap-shear specimens is investigated based on the classical Kirchhoff plate theory for linear elastic materials. Approximate closed-form solutions for a finite square plate containing a rigid inclusion under counter bending conditions are first derived. Based on the J integral, the closed-form structural stress solution is used to develop the analytic solution of the mode I stress intensity factor for spot welds in lap-shear specimens of finite size. Finally, the analytic solution of the mode I stress intensity factor based on the stress solution for a finite square plate with an inclusion is compared with the results of the three-dimensional finite element computations for lap-shear specimens with various ratios of the specimen half width to the nugget radius.

In this paper, fracture and fatigue mechanisms of spot friction welds in aluminum 6111-T4 lap-shear specimens are investigated based on experimental observations. Optical and scanning electron micrographs of these spot friction welds before and after failure under quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions are examined. The micrographs show the fracture and fatigue mechanisms of spot friction welds under quasi-static and cyclic loading conditions. The experimental observations indicate that the fracture mechanisms depend on the microstructure and geometry of welds under quasi-static loading conditions. Under cyclic loading conditions, the fatigue mechanisms depend not only on the microstructure and geometry of welds but also on the load amplitudes.

The fatigue lives of spot friction welds in lap-shear specimens of aluminum 6111-T4 sheets are investigated here. The paths of fatigue cracks near spot friction welds are first discussed. A fatigue crack growth model based on the Paris law for crack propagation and the local stress intensity factors for kinked cracks is then adopted to predict the fatigue lives of spot friction welds. The global and local stress intensity factors based on a recent work of Wang and Pan for resistance spot welds in lap-shear specimens are used to estimate the local stress intensity factors of kinked cracks with experimentally determined kink angles. The results indicate that the fatigue life predictions based on the Paris law and the local stress intensity factors as functions of the kink length agree well with the experimental results.

Microstructures and failure mechanisms of spot friction welds (SFW) in aluminum 5754 lap-shear specimens were investigated. In order to study the effect of tool geometry on the joint strength of spot friction welds, a concave tool and a flat tool were used. In order to understand the effect of tool penetration depth on the joint strength, spot friction welds were prepared with two different penetration depths for each tool. The results indicated that the concave tool produced slightly higher joint strength than the flat tool. The joint strength did not change for the two depths for the flat tool whereas the joint strength slightly increases as the penetration depth increases for the concave tool. The experimental results show that the failure mechanism is necking and shearing for the spot friction welds made by both tools. The failure was initiated and fractured through the upper sheet under the shoulder indentation near the crack tip.

The failure mechanism of resistance spot welds in dual-phase steel lap-shear specimens is first investigated based on experimental observations. Optical micrographs of the cross sections of spot welds in lap-shear specimens of a dual-phase steel before and after failure are examined to understand the failure mechanism. The experimental results suggest that under lap-shear loading conditions, the necking failure is initiated in the sheet near the middle part of the nugget circumference under tension and then the failure propagates in the sheet along the nugget circumference to final fracture. Based on a two-dimensional elasticity theory, an analytic solution for an infinite plate containing a rigid circular inclusion subjected to a resultant shear force is used to investigate the stress and strain distributions near the nugget in lap-shear specimens.