Welded joint manufactured by method of resistance spot welding

Abstract

In a welded joint manufactured by a method of resistance spot welding thin steel sheets, when the diameter of a nugget formed from the thin steel sheets is denoted by d, on a horizontal plane passing through a nugget surrounded by a corona bond, distribution of an amount of P in a region in the nugget surrounded by a closed curve at a distance d/100 from an end portion of a weld zone toward the inside of the nugget and a closed curve at a distance d/5 from the end portion of the weld zone toward the inside of the nugget is analyzed by area analysis, and the proportion of the region in terms of area in which the concentration m (mass %) of P is more than twice the concentration M (mass %) of P of a base metal composition is 5% or less.

Claims

1. A method of resistance spot welding thin steel sheets to form a welded joint therebetween, the method comprising: superimposing the thin steel sheets upon one another and performing a main resistance spot welding step to form a nugget formed from a base metal composition of the thin steel sheets, the nugget having (i) a diameter d on a horizontal plane passing through a center of the nugget surrounded by a corona bond, and (ii) a region on the same horizontal plane in the nugget surrounded by a closed curve at a distance d/100 from an end portion of a weld zone toward the inside of the nugget and a closed curve at a distance d/5 from the end portion of the weld zone toward the inside of the nugget; cooling the nugget formed in the main welding step; and performing two re-welding steps on the nugget, wherein an electric current for a first one of the two re-welding steps is set lower than an electric current for a second one of the two re-welding steps and an electric current for the main welding step, and wherein the electric current for the second one of the two re-welding steps is set higher than or equal to the electric current for the main welding step, a distribution of an amount of phosphorous (P) in the region of the nugget formed subsequent to the two re-weldings being analyzed by area analysis, wherein a proportion of the region, in terms of area in which the concentration m (mass %) of P is more than twice the concentration M (mass %) of P of the base metal composition of the thin steel sheets, is 5% or less.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a number of the thin steel sheets is three or more.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the cooling is performed for 0.08 s to 0.6 s.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the two re-weldings are performed for 0.4 s or less in total.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the two re-weldings are performed for 0.4 s or less in total.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cooling is performed for 0.08 s to 0.6 s.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the two re-weldings are performed for 0.4 s or less in total.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the two re-weldings are performed for 0.4 s or less in total.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a resistance spot welding method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a nugget and an analysis-measurement range.

(3) FIG. 3 illustrates an evaluation of a concentration M of P (phosphorus) of the base metal composition when a sheet set of three sheets is used.

(4) FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a corona bond of the base metal composition when a sheet set of three sheets is used.

(5) FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view illustrating the shape of an electrode (electrode used in examples).

(6) FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between a welding time and an electric current according to the embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(7) An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(8) A welding machine that can be preferably used to form a welded joint according to the present invention includes a pair of upper and lower electrode tips, can press and weld a portion to be welded by clamping the portion between the pair of electrode tips, and includes a electrode force controller and a weld current controller that can respectively control the electrode force and weld current appropriately during welding. The mechanism for pressing (an air cylinder, a servo motor, or the like), the mechanism for controlling a weld current (whether to use an alternating current, a direct current, or the like), and the type of the welding machine (a stationary type, a robot gun, or the like) and the like are not particularly limited.

(9) Regarding the joint, when the diameter of a nugget formed from two thin steel sheets is denoted by d, on a horizontal plane passing through a nugget surrounded by a corona bond, distribution of the amount of P is evaluated by performing an area analysis from an end portion of a weld zone toward the inside of the nugget. However, because it is supposed that spot welding is performed in an axially symmetric manner, a part of this range may be selected and used for evaluation. FIG. 2 illustrates a region in the nugget surrounded by a closed curve at a distance d/100 and a closed curve at a distance d/5 and the relationship between lengths used for evaluation. In FIG. 2, “closed curve (d/100)” and “closed curve (d/5)” respectively denote the closed curve at a distance d/100 and the close curve at a distance d/5 from an end of a weld zone toward the inside of the nugget. Because FIG. 2 is a schematic view, the closed curves are shown as perfect circles. In practice, the closed curves are not necessarily perfectly circles and may be slightly different from perfect circles, although they are substantially circular.

(10) Here, a plane passing through a nugget surrounded by a corona bond is used, because the strength of a corona bond is generally low and peeling off first occurs at the corona bond and a crack propagates in the nugget in cross tension test, and therefore this plane is the most suitable for evaluation. However, because a direction in which a crack propagates may be deflected upward or downward depending on the strength of the corona bond, a range within 1/10 of the nugget thickness from the corona bond in the vertical direction may be used as the measurement range.

(11) The distance d/100 from an end portion of a weld zone is used because the solidified end portion is partially melted and is not subjected to the present evaluation. The distance d/5 from an end portion of a weld zone is used because a range that may influence a crack is up to the distance d/5. It is preferable that the upper limit be d/10 or less, which defines a narrower range.

(12) The amount of P in a selected part or the entirety of the aforementioned region is analyzed by performing area analysis. Analysis using EPMA is the most suitable for the present evaluation.

(13) The area in which the concentration m (mass %) of P is more than twice the concentration M (mass %) of P of the base metal composition is obtained, and the proportion of this area to the area of the region surrounded by the aforementioned two closed curves is evaluated.

(14) In a case where the sheet set includes two steel sheets having the same chemical composition, the concentration M (mass %) of P of the base metal composition is defined as the concentration (mass %) of P included in the steel sheets. In a case where steel sheets having different compositions (P1,P2) (mass %) and different thicknesses (t1,t2) (mm) are used, the concentration of P can be calculated as P=(P1×t1 +P2×t2)/(t1 +t2).

(15) In a case where the number of steel sheets is three, since it is considered that the steel sheet 2 is entirely melted in contrast to the steel sheets 1 and 3 as illustrated in FIG. 3, the concentration (mass %) of P included in the steel sheets is represented as P=(P1 ×t1 +P2×t2+3×t3)/(t1+t2+t3), where t1 to t3 are the thicknesses of the nugget along the axis of the electrodes, which is obtained by cutting and observing a cross section of the nugget after welding.

(16) Likewise, in a case where the number of steel sheets is n that is greater than three, P can be represented as P=(P1×t1 +P2×t2+P3×t3 +. . . +Pn×tn)/(t1 +t2 +t3 + . . . tn), where t1 to tn are the thicknesses of the nugget.

(17) The phrase “a horizontal plane passing through a nugget surrounded by a corona bond of a sheet set of three or more sheets” refers to a horizontal plane passing through a nugget surrounded by a corona bond that exists on an interface between a pair of sheets for which the joint strength is to be evaluated. For example, when evaluating the joint strength of the steel sheet 2 and the steel sheet 3 in FIG. 4, the corona bond is shown by solid lines and the horizontal plane passing through the nugget surrounded by the corona bond is shown by a dotted line.

(18) It is required that the proportion of the region in terms of area in which the concentration m (mass %) of P is more than twice the concentration M (mass %) of P of the base metal composition be 5% or less.

(19) The condition that the concentration m (mass %) of P is more than twice the concentration M (mass %) of P of the base metal composition is used, because brittle fracture due to solidifying segregation frequently occurs if the concentration of P is more than twice. The condition that the proportion in terms of area is 5% or less is used because initiation of fracture can be sufficiently prevented by making the proportion be 5% or less.

(20) As described above, analysis using EPMA is the most suitable for the present evaluation. However, analysis using EDX or WDX may be performed. When performing analysis using EPMA, it is preferable that the analysis be performed under the following conditions: acceleration voltage of 13 to 17 kV, irradiation current 1×10-7A or higher and 3×10-7A or lower, beam diameter of 1 to 3 μmφ, number of steps of 1 to 3 μm, and gate time of 3 to 10 s/points.

(21) Area analysis is performed in the aforementioned range, and the proportion in terms of area is calculated. However, evaluation may be performed more simply by line analysis. The proportion in terms of area can be obtained using an image analyzer. By making the proportion in terms of area be 3% or less, a more preferable high strength joint, in which the influence of P is reduced further, can be obtained.

(22) There are several methods for manufacturing a resistance spot welded joint in which the proportion of the region in terms of area in which the concentration m (mass %) of P is more than twice the concentration M (mass %) of P of the base metal composition is 5% or less. In the examples described below, resistance spot welding is performed such that a main step of forming a nugget is performed first, a non-welding step for cooling is performed next, and then a re-welding step (post-step welding) is performed twice. In this case, it is necessary that the nugget diameter at the interface between two steel sheets forming a corona bond be in the range of 3√t to 6√t, where t is the thickness of the thinner one of the two steel sheets. This is required for ensuring the minimum necessary nugget diameter in resistance spot welding while preventing the nugget diameter and the influence of heat from becoming too large.

(23) After the nugget has been formed, an electric current is not applied for a non-welding time Tc in the range of 4 to 30 cycles (1 cycle corresponds to 0.02 s). This is because it is necessary that the nugget be solidified to the minimum required degree while it is inefficient if the nugget is cooled excessively and it becomes necessary to perform reheating. Subsequently, two-step welding is performed. To prevent expulsion due to rapid welding, an electric current Ip1 for the first-step welding is set lower than an electric current Ip2 for the second-step welding. It is preferable that Ip2 be higher than Im because it is necessary to increase the temperature of the nugget so that P can be sufficiently dispersed. To restrain an increase in welding time, it is preferable that the sum of two-step welding times Tp =Tp1 +Tp2 be 20 cycles or less. It is not necessary that the joint be heated only in the process of resistance spot welding, and the joint may be heated by using a post-heating device using an induction heating method or the like.

EXAMPLE 1

(24) As an example of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a resistance spot welded joint was formed by welding the sheet set 3, which included two lapped steel sheets (the lower steel sheet 1 and the upper steel sheet 2), by using a resistance welding machine. The resistance welding machine, which was attached to a welding gun, was of a servo motor pressing type using a single-phase current (50 Hz). As illustrated in FIG. 5, a pair of electrode tips (the lower electrode tip 4 and the upper electrode tip 5) used in this example were both Dome-type electrodes with made of an alumina-dispersed copper, each having an end portion having a radius of curvature of R40 and a diameter of 6 mm.

(25) Steel sheets of the same type (having the same chemical composition) and having the same thickness were used as test pieces of the lower steel sheet 1 and the upper steel sheet 2, which were cold-rolled steel sheets having a tensile strength of 780 MPa, 980 MPa, 1180 MPa, and 1470 Mpa. By using these steel sheets, welding and cross tension test were performed in accordance with JIS 23137.

(26) In invention examples, resistance spot welding was performed in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention described above. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, a non-welding step of pressing without welding was performed (for a non-welding time Tc), and re-welding step of applying an electric current (Ip1,Ip2) was performed twice (for post-step welding times Tp1 and Tp2).

(27) In related-art examples, resistance spot welding including only a main step was performed.

(28) Table 1 shows the welding conditions and the results of welding according to the invention examples, the related-art examples, and the comparative examples. Welding conditions that are not shown in this table (for example, squeeze time or slope time) were not set. It was confirmed that the nugget diameter was not increased as a result of performing the post-step welding.

(29) After welding was finished, on a plane passing through a nugget surrounded by a corona bond, area analysis was performed using EPMA to obtain the distribution of P by observing five areas each having a size of 30 μm square, which were randomly selected from a region in the nugget surrounded by a closed curve at a distance d/100 from an end portion of a weld zone toward the inside of the nugget and a closed curve at a distance d/5 from the end portion of the weld zone toward the inside of the nugget, that is, an annular region at a distance in the range of d/100 to d/5 from the end portion of the weld zone. The proportion of a segregation portion in terms of area in which the amount of P is more than twice the amount M of P of the base metal was evaluated.

(30) Furthermore, cross tension test was performed on these joints and a load when fracture occurred was compared with each other. Cases where the tensile strength increased as compared with the related-art examples were classified as “O” and cases where the tensile strength decreased were classified as “X”.

(31) As a result, it was confirmed that, in the invention examples, the area in which P was highly concentrated decreased and the cross tension strength increased as compared with the related-art examples and the comparative examples.

(32) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Tensile Main Step Post-step Strength of Sheet Weld Non-Weld Weld Weld Time Test Steel Sheet Thickness Electrode Current Weld Time Time Tc Current Tp1 No. (Mpa) t (mm) force (kN) lm (kA) Tm (cycles) (cycles) lp1 (kA) (cycles) 1 780 1.6 3.5 6 14 — — — 2 780 1.6 3.5 6 14 0 5.0 20 3 780 1.6 3.5 6 14 0 5.5 20 4 780 1.6 3.5 6 14 4 4.2 4 5 780 1.6 3.5 6 14 6 4.8 3 6 780 1.6 3.5 6 14 8 5.4 2 7 980 1 3.5 5.5 14 — — — 8 980 1 3.5 5.5 14 4 3.9 4 9 980 1 3.5 5.5 14 6 4.4 3 10 980 1 3.5 5.5 14 8 5.0 2 11 1180 1.2 3.5 6 14 — — — 12 1180 1.2 3.5 6 14 4 5.4 2 13 1180 1.2 3.5 6 14 6 4.8 3 14 1180 1.2 3.5 6 14 8 4.2 4 15 1180 2 3.5 6 14 — — — 16 1180 2 3.5 6 14 6 4.2 4 17 1180 2 3.5 6 14 8 4.8 3 18 1180 2 3.5 6 14 10  5.4 2 19 1470 1.6 3.5 6 14 — — — 20 1470 1.6 3.5 6 14 4 4.2 4 21 1470 1.6 3.5 6 14 6 4.8 3 22 1470 1.6 3.5 6 14 8 5.4 2 Post-step Cross Weld Weld Time Tension Test Current Tp2 Area Strength No. lp2 (kA) (cycles) Proportion.sup.1) (kN) Increase Remark  1 — — 8 7.2 — Related-art Example  2 — — 9 7 X Comparative Example  3 — — 8.3 6.8 X Comparative Example  4 6.0 4 2.7 10.2 ◯ Invention Example  5 6.6 3 2.6 10.4 ◯ Invention Example  6 7.2 2 3 10 ◯ Invention Example  7 — — 7.3 4.2 — Related-art Example  8 6.6 4 3.4 5.2 ◯ Invention Example  9 6.1 3 3.4 5.3 ◯ Invention Example 10 6.1 2 4.5 4.8 ◯ Invention Example 11 — — 8.1 4.8 — Related-art Example 12 6.0 4 3.3 6.5 ◯ Invention Example 13 6.6 3 3.2 6.2 ◯ Invention Example 14 7.2 2 3.9 5.4 ◯ Invention Example 15 — — 7.5 7.5 — Related-art Example 16 6.0 4 3.3 11.5 ◯ Invention Example 17 6.6 3 2.9 12.3 ◯ Invention Example 18 7.2 2 4.3 9.1 ◯ Invention Example 19 — — 8.4 6.5 — Related-art Example 20 6.0 4 3.5 9.2 ◯ Invention Example 21 6.6 3 3.3 9.7 ◯ Invention Example 22 7.2 2 3.9 8.2 ◯ Invention Example .sup.1)proportion in terms of area (%) in nugget in which concentration m (mass %) of P is more than twice concentration M (mass %) of P of base metal composition

EXAMPLE 2

(33) As an example of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a resistance spot welded joint was formed by welding a sheet set, which included three lapped steel sheets (the lower steel sheet 1, the middle steel, sheet 2, and the upper steel sheet 3), by using a resistance welding machine. The resistance welding machine, which was attached to a welding gun, was of a servo motor pressing type using a single-phase current (50 Hz). As illustrated in FIG. 5, a pair of electrode tips (the lower electrode tip 4 and the upper electrode tip 5) used in this example were both DR-type electrodes made of an alumina-dispersed copper, each having an end portion having a radius of curvature of R40 and a diameter of 6 mm.

(34) Table 2 shows sheet sets used as test pieces. Here, the strength is the tensile strength, a steel sheet that is “not coated” is a cold rolled steel sheet, and “GA” stands for a GA steel sheet. The coating weight of GA steel sheet was 45 g/mm.sup.2. By using these steel sheets, welding and cross tension test were performed in accordance with JIS 23137. In the cross tension test, tension was applied to the steel sheets 1 and 2.

(35) In invention examples, resistance spot welding was performed in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention described above. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, a non-welding step of pressing without welding was performed (for a non-welding time Tc), and re-welding step of applying an electric current (Ip1 , Ip2 ) was performed twice (for post-step welding times Tp1 and Tp2 ).

(36) In related-art examples, resistance spot welding including only a main step was performed.

(37) Table 3 shows the welding conditions and the results of welding according to the invention examples and the related-art examples. Welding conditions that are not shown in this table (for example, squeeze time or slope time) were not set. It was confirmed that the nugget diameter was not increased as a result of performing post-step welding.

(38) After welding was finished, on a plane passing through a nugget surrounded by a corona bond between the steel sheets 1 and 2, area analysis was performed using EPMA to obtain the distribution of P by observing five areas each having a size of 30 μm square, which were randomly selected from a region in the nugget surrounded by a closed curve at a distance d/100 from an end portion of a weld zone toward the inside of the nugget and a closed curve at a distance d/5 from the end portion of the weld zone toward the inside of the nugget, that is, an annular region at a distance in the range of d/100 to d/5 from the end portion of the weld zone. The proportion of a segregation portion in terms of area in which the amount of P therein is more than twice the amount M of P in the base metal P was evaluated.

(39) Furthermore, cross tension test was performed on these joints and a load when fracture occurred was compared with each other. Cases where the tensile strength increased as compared with the related-art examples were classified as “O”.

(40) As a result, it was confirmed that, in the invention examples, the area in which P was highly concentrated decreased and the cross tension strength increased as compared with the related-art examples.

(41) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Steel Sheet 1 Steel Sheet 2 Steel Sheet 3 Tensile Tensile Tensile Sheet Set Strength Thickness Strength Thickness Strength Thickness No. (MPa) Coating (mm) (MPa) Coating (mm) (MPa) Coating (mm) A 780 not coated 1.2 780 not coated 1.2 270 GA 0.6 B 980 GA 1.6 980 GA 1.6 270 GA 0.8 C 1180 not coated 2.0 1180 not coated 2.0 270 GA 0.8 GA; hot dip galvanized zinc alloy coating

(42) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Main Step Post-step Weld Weld Weld Weld Weld Cross Sheet Electrode Weld Time Non-Weld Current Time Current Time Tension Test Set force Current Tm Time Tc lp1 Tp1 lp2 lp2 Area Strength No. No. (kN) lm (kA) (cycles) (cycles) (kA) (cycles) (kA) (cycles) Proportion.sup.1) (kN) Increase Remark 1 A 3.5 6.5 20 — — — — — 8 4.4 — Related-art Example 2 A 3.5 6.5 20 6 4.6 3 6.5 3 3.4 6.5 ◯ Invention Example 3 A 3.5 6.5 20 8 5.2 3 5.9 3 3.8 7 ◯ Invention Example 4 B 3.5 6 18 — — — — — 8 7 — Related-art Example 5 B 3.5 6 18 6 4.2 3 6.0 3 4.2 9.8 ◯ Invention Example 6 B 3.5 6 18 8 4.8 3 5.4 3 3.2 10.2 ◯ Invention Example 7 C 3.5 6 18 — — — — — 8 8.2 — Related-art Example 8 C 3.5 6 18 6 4.2 3 6.0 3 4 11.2 ◯ Invention Example 9 C 3.5 6 18 8 4.8 3 5.4 3 3.1 12.1 ◯ Invention Example .sup.1)proportion in terms of area (%) in nugget in which concentration m (mass %) of P is more than twice concentration M (mass %) of P of base metal composition

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

(43) 1 lower steel sheet

(44) 2 upper steel sheet

(45) 3 sheet set

(46) 4 lower electrode tip

(47) 5 upper electrode tip

(48) 6 nugget

(49) t total thickness (mm)

(50) d nugget diameter