Abstract
Dual-phase steel has been employed in the automotive industry as it has the advantages of high strength, satisfying ductility, low yield ratio, and so on. A novel framework for the weld nugget size prediction and control using finite element modeling and experimental research was proposed in this paper. The two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical analysis model was established and the phase transition on thermal expansion coefficient was taken into account. The whole welding process was simulated and discussed using thermal elastic-plastic theory. To validate the predictive methods of developed weld nugget size and confirmation experiments were implemented with the same input parameters in the ranges of process parameters. The simulated weld nugget sizes were in good agreement with the experimental results except for extreme welding conditions. The microstructure of the welding zone was also investigated based on metallographic experiments and temperature field analysis. The welding parameters were adjusted using the model proposed in this paper so as to obtain the nugget size with pull out failure mode.