Numerical Analysis of Weld Spot Spacing Effects on Shear Tensile Behavior of TRIP 800 Steel

Abstract

The global TRIP 800 steel industry is a dynamic and constantly evolving sector, requiring innovative technologies and robust materials to meet performance and safety standards. Among the techniques used for assembling metallic materials, resistance welding—and more specifically, spot welding is widely employed for joining high-quality metal parts. This method enables the creation of sealed and durable joints, which are essential for applications in the aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding, and other industrial sectors. The variations in temperature and pressure can influence the metallurgical structure of the joint, potentially compromising its strength and durability. The objective of our study is to model a shear tensile test to visualize the influence of spot welding parameters, such as the spacing between weld points, the dimensions of the weld joints, and the effect of TRIP 800 steel plates. This study covers the various welding methods, with a particular focus on resistance spot welding. We discuss the welding principle, the different stages of the process, the geometry and microstructure of the weld nugget, as well as the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and weldability considerations, and we explore the general concepts related to TRIP 800 steel. Secondly we interpret the equivalent stress results (VON MISES and MAX PRINCIPAL) and analyze stress histograms representing the molten metal and the heat-affected zone across four different geometric models to illustrate the influence of weld point spacing, finally, we focused on the behavior of the joint in the event of failure (spot welding), by creating a model that includes a crack.This crack occurs in the base metal with identical size, in order to parameterize the study and visualize the fracture behavior of the joint while interpreting the J-integral contour.