Postcrack Propagation of Tensile Shear Test: Analyzing the Carbon Steel Welds, Stainless Steel Welds, and Both Steels Mixed Welds in Resistance Spot Welding

Conducting tensile shear test for the spot-welded specimens is a common practice in resistance spot welding as it helps to understand the loading behavior and its corresponding effect. Two categories of weld failures are conventionally regarded, as to distinguish the sound weld over a poor one. This approach has severe drawback from early days and therefore the postcrack propagation (PCP) method is carried out as an alternative in this experimental study. With the PCP experimental results in hand, the tensile shear test is simulated using ANSYS to observe the corresponding strain distribution. Based on the visual inspection of simulation and practical results, three classifications (IF, PF, and TF) are consequently categorized; so that the weld failures of tensile shearing test can now be accurately distinguished by means of cracking patterns. Moreover, some degrees of fractures have regularly been noticed by other fellow researchers within these three categories and thereby the fractures have been named after the degrees of cracking severity. Carbon steel welds, partially corroded carbon steel welds, stainless steel welds, and mixed steel welds have been parallelly analyzed for the PCP modes and the results obeyed the categorization very well.