Electrical contact resistance effect on resistance spot welding

P.S. Wei
a,
, T.H. Wu
b,1
a
Department of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan, ROC
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yung Ta Institute of Technology and Commerce, Pintong 909, Taiwan, ROC
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 24 June 2011
Received in revised form 7 January 2012
Accepted 7 January 2012
Available online 22 February 2012
Keywords:
Resistance spot welding
Electrical contact resistance
Nugget formation
Dynamic resistance
Constriction resistance
Film resistance
a b s t r a c t
The effects of local electrical contact resistance on transport variables, cooling rate, solute distribution,
and nugget shape after solidication responsible for microstructure of the fusion zone during resistance
spot welding are realistically and systematically investigated. The model accounts for electromagnetic
force, heat generation and contact resistances at the faying surface and electrodeworkpiece interfaces
and bulk resistance in workpieces. Contact resistances are composed of lm and constriction resistances,
as functions of hardness, temperature, electrode force and surface condition. The computed results show
that the bulk dynamic electrical resistance cannot reliably reect transport processes and nugget shape,
unless the local constriction resistance and electric current density are known. Regardless of high lm
resistance, nugget growth and transport processes are independent of lm resistance due to delayed
response time of local electric current in the early stage. A decrease in constriction resistance, however,
delays nugget formation, enhances convection and solute mixing, and changes circulation direction of the
stronger convection cell during cooling period.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Resistance spot welding is a popular method in joining thin
workpieces in various manufacturing, automobile, aerospace and
packaging industries [15]. The workpieces are squeezed by two
water-cooled copper electrodes, which exert force to break up
any surface oxides or lms on the faying surface to produce an inti-
mate contact. After electric current is applied across electrodes,
heat generates within the bulk workpieces and at the interfaces
due to electrical resistance. Melting thus initiates at the faying sur-
face. Since electric current spreads strongly on entering the work-
piece, the induced electromagnetic force induces strong convection
in the molten nugget [68]. The molten nugget grows until current
ow is terminated. The nugget solidies due to cooling through
electrodes.
Studying electrical resistance therefore is necessary for under-
standing transport processes during resistance spot welding [9
12]. Bentley et al. [13] was one of the early researchers to use a
metallographic technique and theoretical method to nd that tem-
perature and nugget growth during spot welding of mild steel are
dominated by contact resistances at the faying surface, and work-
piece and electrode in the early stage. In the late stage, their effects
are less inuential. Wei and Ho [14] theoretically showed that con-
tact resistance at the faying surface and joule heat in the bulk
material are, respectively, responsible for nugget growth in the
early and late stages. De et al. [15] theoretically found that the ini-
tial contact resistances at the faying surface and workpiece and
electrode strongly inuence the formation of the fusion zone in
resistance spot welding of aluminum. The variation of contact
resistance at the faying surface was insensitive to the fusion zone
size.
A detailed time-dependent variation of dynamic electrical resis-
tance should be known, since it is often used for monitoring of the
process to obtain good weld quality [1619]. Roberts [20] experi-
mentally showed the time-dependent dynamic resistance taking
the sum of bulk resistance of the two workpieces, and contact
resistances at the faying surface and two electrodeworkpiece
interfaces. An initial drop of dynamic resistance was attributed to
the rupture of the surface lm. The rise in dynamic resistance after
the breakdown of contact resistance was proposed to be due to the
heating of workpieces, and the subsequent fall after the maximum
resistance was reached may be attributed to two causes; the
growth of the nugget diameter and the increase in penetration of
the electrodes into workpieces. Both increased areas for current
ow. Even though the dynamic resistance curves differed markedly
with the surface conditions and different material combinations
[18,19,21], the typical dynamic resistance curves agreed with the
curves presented by Roberts [20].
The contact resistance can be considered as a combination of
the constriction and lm resistances for materials with lm or con-
taminants on a contact surface [22]. The constriction resistance
0017-9310/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2012.01.040

Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 7 5254050; fax: +886 7 5254214.

E-mail addresses: pswei@mail.nsysu.edu.tw (P.S. Wei), wux0064@gmail.com
(T.H. Wu).
1
Tel.: +886 921 678 716.
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 33163324
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arises when current ows from one conductor to another. Contact
resistance thus is simply a constriction resistance for a clean metal
contact. Dynamic electrical resistance during resistance spot weld-
ing has been modeled by Wang and Wei [23]. Dynamic resistance
took the sum of temperature-dependent bulk resistance of work-
pieces, and contact resistances composed of constriction and lm
resistances as functions of hardness, temperature, electrode force,
and surface condition. With temperature determined from the pre-
vious study [6], the predicted time-dependent dynamic resistance
agreed well with typical trends and available experimental data. In
the absence of lm resistance, the rapid drop of contact resistance
in the early stage disappears. Moreover, the local maximum disap-
pears if electrical resistivity at contact surfaces is independent of
temperature. The decrease of dynamic resistance after the peak is
not due to liquid formation [20], but it is a result of decreased
increasing rate of bulk resistance and the drop of contact resis-
tance. Babu et al. [24] measured constriction resistance as a func-
tion of applied pressure. Substituting temperature dependence of
bulk resistivity and mechanical properties, a curve tting of a rela-
tionship of contact resistance to pressure and temperature was
established. This empirical model agreed well with measurements
in the regime of low applied pressure.
In order for simple analysis, contact resistance can be effectively
modeled as an exponentially decreasing function of temperature
[25,26], a linearly decreasing function of temperature [14,2729],
functions proportional to square root of temperature-dependent
hardness [30], difference in voltages between the contact surface
and a reference point [31], and square root of difference in squared
temperatures at the contact surface and in bulk workpiece [32],
and an algebraic expression of an electro-thermal contact condi-
tion for constriction resistance [33] , respectively.
This work systematically investigates the effects of local contact
resistance including constriction and lm resistances on resistance
spot welding experiencing heating, melting, cooling and freezing.
Since dynamic resistance is a bulk property, a reliable investigation
of local and different characteristics of constriction and lm resis-
tances on transport processes is important. Thermal convection,
solute distribution, cooling rate, and nugget shape after solidica-
tion, essentially required for analyzing microstructures of the weld
nugget, thus become more understandable.
Nomenclature
C liquid-to-solid specic heat ratio, dened in Eq. (13)
Da Darcy number, dened in Eq. (13)
E
f
effective thickness of heat source due to thermal contact
resistance e
f
=~r
o
E

dimensionless electrical static contact resistance

~ r
liq
~
R
0
~r
o
f mass fraction of liquid or solid
F
0
dimensionless parameter, dened in Eq. (13)
f
a
solute mass fraction =
~
f
a
=
~
f
a
m;0
~
f
a
m;0
initial solute content
g volume fraction or gravitational acceleration
Gr Grashof number, dened in Eq. (13)
h enthalpy
~
h=h
f
H magnetic eld intensity in h direction, H
~
Hp~r
o
=I
H
v
hardness
h
f
fusion latent heat at eutectic point, J/kg
h

RCT + R(1 C)T

e
+ 1
h
s
RT
I, j welding current, amp, electric current density, j
~
jp~r
2
o
=I
K g
s
k
s
+ g

k
E
thermal conductivity ratio =
~
k
E
=
~
k
s
k
s
thermal conductivity ratio =
~
k
s
=
~
k

k
p
equilibrium partition coefcient
K
0
permeability constant, m
2
L distance between electrodes
L
1
, L
2
, L
3
, L
4
length, as illustrated in Fig. 1
Lo dimensionless parameter, dened in Eq. (13)
M (dr
c
/df + ndN/df)/N
N r
s
(f) r
c
(f)
n total number of contact spots
n
1
number of contact spots in the rst control volume near
axisymmetric axis
Pr
m
magnetic Prandtl number = ~ g

=~ a

, dened in Eq. (13)

R ~c
s
~
T
0
=h
f
R
d
dynamic resistance
~
R
d
=
~
R
0
R
E
~c
E
~
T
0
=h
f
r
o
electrode radius, as illustrated in Fig. 1
~
R
0
electrical contact resistance at faying surface at T
0
R
0E
electrical contact resistance at electrodeworkpiece
interface at T
0
, R
0E

~
R
0E
=
~
R
0
s lm thickness
Sc Schmidt number, dened in Eq. (13)
T temperature =
~
T=
~
T
0
T
e
eutectic temperature
u, v axial and radial velocity, u ~ u~r
o
=~ a

; v ~ v~r
o
=~ a

V
velocity vector
W electrode force
Greek letters
~ a

dimensional liquid thermal diffusivity

b
s
, b
T
solutal and thermal expansion coefcient
d nugget thickness
~ g

liquid magnetic diffusivity = 1=~ r

l
0
l
r
g
E
~ g
E
=~ g

, where ~ g
E
1=~ r
E
l
0
l
rE
h
0
temperature ratio, dened in Eq. (13)
l
r
relative magnetic permeability = g

+ g
s
l
rs
/l
r
l
0
free magnetic permeability, N/amp
2
e
f
effective thickness of heat source due to thermal contact
resistance, m
q density ~ q=~ q

r electrical conductivity, r = ~ r=~ r

^
l
= g
s
r
s
+ g

x welding current frequency

R dimensionless parameter, dened in Eq. (13)
s time = t~ a

=~r
2
o
Superscript
a solute
$ dimensional quantity
Subscript
c coolant, contact surface, or characteristic quantity
E electrode
f lm
, liq liquid and liquidus
m mixture
o electrode outer radius
s, sol solid and solidus
0 ambient
P.S. Wei, T.H. Wu/ International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 33163324 3317
2. System model and analysis
In this work, resistance spot welding is analyzed in a cylindri-
cal coordinate system with the origin at the intersection of the
axisymmetric axis and lower electrodeworkpiece surface, as
illustrated in Fig. 1. Workpieces are binary alloy squeezed by at
tip electrodes having a truncated cone face with radius ~r
e
and
outer radius ~r
o
. The major assumptions are that (1) welding AC
is uniform across the top of the upper electrode, (2) heat gener-
ations at interfaces are volumetric heat sources, (3) the mushy
zone is a porous medium in local thermal and phase equilibrium,
(4) workpieces are mixtures in phases [6,23], (5) contact resis-
tance at the electrodeworkpiece interface is smaller than that
at the faying surface, (6) contact spots at contact surfaces are
uniformly distributed, and (7) deformation of the workpiece by
electrode load is not accounted. In this model, unsteady electro-
magnetic model is used rather than conventional electrostatic
model. Validity can be seen from a complete electrical potential
equation given by
~
e~ l
@
2
/
@t
2
~ r~ l
@/
@t
r
2
/ 1
Three terms can be, respectively, scaled as
~
e~ l
/
c
t
2
c
~ r~ l
/
c
t
c
/
c
z
2
c
2
where permitivity constant
~
e = 8.85 10
12
F/m, free magnetic per-
meability l
0
= 4p 10
7
H/m, and electrical conductivity ~ r %10
6

10
7
mho/m for most metals and alloys. Provided that t
c
= 0.1 s,
z
c
= 0.001 m suitable for resistance spot welding, the rst term in
Eq. (2) can be neglected in comparison with the second term. The
relative magnetic permeability can be as high as l
r
% 10
3
10
5
for
ferromagnetic materials such as iron, steel, nickel, cobalt, etc.
Supermalloys can even reach l
r
% 10
6
. In these cases, the second
term on the left-hand side and the term on the right hand side of
Eq. (1) become the same order of magnitudes. The unsteady term
therefore cannot be neglected when welding ferromagnetic work-
pieces, workpieces with high magnetic permeabilities or thick
thickness, or welding in a small time period.
2.1. Electrical contact resistance
A local dimensionless electrical contact resistance for a single
contact spot at the faying surface or electrodeworkpiece interface
can be simulated by [23].
R
c

R
1
r

nH
v
_
R
2
snH
v
r
f
3
where the dimensionless parameters governing constriction and
lm resistances are, respectively, dened as
R
1

1
2
~
R
0
~ r
liq

p
~
H
v0
W

; R
2

~r
o
~
H
v0
W
~
R
0
~ r
liq
4
Contact resistance stems from the presence of roughness on
the contact surfaces or an additional layer between contact sur-
faces. Constriction resistance results when an electric current is
passed and constricted from one sheet to the other through con-
tact spots of roughness. Film resistance due to an oxide or impu-
rity layer between contact surfaces occurs because of its
resistivity, roughness and thickness. Contact resistances can be
reduced by any mean such as increasing force load, temperature,
galvanic erosion, fritting wear, etc. to increase the area and num-
ber of contact spots. Since electrical properties and hardness are
temperature-dependent, electrical contact resistance in Eqs. (3)
and (4) involves transient coupling between thermalmechani-
calelectrical effects. For a given control volume containing n
i
contact spots, Eq. (3) becomes
R
ci

R
1
n
i
r

nH
v
_
R
2
snH
v
n
i
r
f
5
where the total number of contact spot n

i
n
i
. In this case, the
number of contact spot at the rst control volume is chosen to be
n
1
= 10. An effective contact electrical conductivity is introduced
r
c

E
f
E

R
c
A
c
6
where E
f
and A
c
are, respectively, an effective thickness of heat
source due to thermal contact resistance, and cross section for elec-
tric current to ow. Eq. (6) indicates that temperature is affected by
the effective thickness of thermal contact resistance and the thick-
ness of lm resistance involved in E
f
and R
c
, respectively.
2.2. Governing equations and boundary conditions
With the above assumptions, dimensionless continuity,
momentum, energy, species, magnetic eld intensity equations
[6,23], respectively, become
@q
@s
r qV
m
0 7
@qu
m
@s
r qV
m
u
m
Prr qru
m

Pr
Da
q1 g

2
g
3

u
m

@p
@z
Pr
2
Grh
0
T T
sol
F
0
f
a

f
a
;Tsol

Lo
p
2
l
r
H
@H
@z
8
@qv
m
@s
r qV
m
v
m
Prr qrv
m

Pr
Da
q1 g

2
g
3

v
m

@p
@r

Lo
p
2
l
r
r
H
@rH
@r
9
Fig. 1. Sketch for resistance spot welding and coordinate system.
3318 P.S. Wei, T.H. Wu/ International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 33163324
@qh
m
@s
r qV
m
h
m
Cr Krh
m
Cr Krh
s
h
m

r qh

h
m
V
m

Lo

p
2
1
r
c

1
r
_ _
1
r
@rH
@r
_ _
2

@H
@z
_ _
2
_ _
10
@qf
a
m
@s
r qV
m
f
a
m

Pr
Sc
r qf

rf
a
m

Pr
Sc
r qf

rf
a

f
a
m

r qf
a

f
a
m
V
m
11
@l
r
H
@s
r l
r
HV
m
Pr
m
r
1
r
rH
_ _
Pr
m
H
r
@
@r
1
r
_ _

H
rr
2
_ _

l
r
Hv
m
r
12
where all lengths are nondimensionalized by the outer radius of the
electrode, whereas time is nondimensionalized by the time for ther-
mal diffusion ~r
2
o
=~ a

. Dimensionless parameters are, respectively, de-

ned as
Pr
~ m

~
a

; Pr
m

~ g

~
a

; Da
K
o
~r
2
o
; Gr
gb
T

~
T
sol

~
T
e
~r
3
o
~ m
2

; h
0

~
T
0
~
T
sol

~
T
e
;
Fo
b
s
~
f
a
m;0
b
T

~
T
sol

~
T
e

; Lo
I
2
l
0
l
r
~ q

~ a
2

; C
~c

~c
s
; R
~ q

~ g

~r
2
o
h
f
; Sc
~ m

~
D
a

13
The last terms on the right-hand side of Eqs. (8) and (9) stand for
Lorentz force, whereas the last term on the right-hand side of Eq.
(10) combines heat generation at contact surfaces and in bulk work-
piece. Determination of distinct regions of the mushy zone, full li-
quid and solid was described by Wei and Yeh [34]. Solute fraction
in the liquid in Eq. (8) is given by
f
a

f
a
m
1 f
s
k
p
1
14
where equilibrium partition coefcient k
p
represents the ratio of
solute contents in the solid and liquid at the same temperature. Ow-
ing to irregular geometry of the electrode, an immobilization trans-
formation is effectively used. Energy and magnetic eld intensity
equations in the electrode thus, respectively, become
@T
E
@s

k
E
k
s
RC
q
E
R
E
@
2
T
E
@f
2

1
N
2
M
2
_ _
@
2
T
E
@n
2
2M
@
2
T
E
@n@f

1
nNr
c
2M
dN
df
_ _
1
N
@T
E
@n
_ _

LoR
p
2
q
E
R
E
r
E
M
@H
E
@n

@H
E
@f
_ _
2

H
E
nNr
c

1
N
@H
E
@n
_ _
2
_ _
15
@H
E
@s
Pr
m
g
E
@
2
H
E
@f
2

1
N
2
M
2
_ _
@
2
H
E
@n
2
2M
@
2
H
E
@n@f
_

1
nN r
c
2M
dN
df
_ _
1
N
@H
E
@n

H
E
nN r
c

2
_
16
Magnetic eld intensity at the top of the upper electrode is given by
H
E

1
21 r
c

n
2
1 r
c
2r
c
n
n1 r
c
r
c
sin2pxs 17
which is derived from Ampere law by considering uniform AC
across the top surface. Magnetic eld intensity vanishes in the cool-
ant hole because of negligible electric current. Magnetic eld inten-
sity at the electrodeworkpiece interface is satised by continuities
of tangential electric and magnetic eld intensities across the
interface, respectively. Magnetic eld intensity must also vanish
at the axisymmetric axis to avoid innite electric currents.
2.3. Numerical method
Eqs. (7)(12), (15) and (16) are discretized by a control-volume,
implicit nite-difference scheme with staggered grids. A grid sys-
tem 50 53 in workpieces and 27 72 in the electrode, time step
2 10
5
are selected. The maximum deviation of computed resis-
tances by using grid systems of 50 53 and 72 75 is less than 1%.
Convergence tolerances for global energy and velocity components
and enthalpy, concentration, and magnetic intensity elds were
10
2
and 10
3
, respectively. Otherwise, equations for the electrode
are solved again and the process is repeated. If solutions con-
verged, temperature distributions are used to calculate resistances.
Computations then proceed to the next time.
3. Results and discussion
The present work uses the computer program developed by
Wang and Wei [23] to investigate the effects of local contact resis-
tances on transient mass, momentum, energy, species and magnetic
eld intensity transport in workpieces and electrodes. The contact
resistance is composed of constriction and lm resistances, which
are functions of hardness, temperature, electrode force, and surface
condition. Both components of contact resistance increase with
decreasing electrode force and increasing hardness and number of
contact spots at interfaces (see Eq. (3)). Hardness decreases with
increasing temperature. Sizes of contact spots onthe contact surface
can also be a function of the electrode force, total number of contact
spots, andhardness. Interactions betweenthese factors affecting the
change of electrical resistance during spot welding are accounted.
Therefore, it reveals that an increase in temperature decreases lm
resistance and increases bulk resistance. Constriction resistance,
however, increases and then decreases with increasing temperature
due to increased resistivity and decreased hardness, respectively.
Working parameters in this work are listed in Table 1. Metallurgical
properties are basedona binaryalloyof ironandmanganese. Choos-
ing typical values of
~
R
0
10
4
ohm;
~
H
v0
10
8
N=m
2
, W = 1000 N,
~ r
liq
10
6
mho=m;~r
o
10
2
m, dimensionless parameters govern-
ing constriction and lm resistances at the faying surface are of the
magnitude as R
1
= 30 and R
2
= 30 (see Eq. (4)). Curie temperature is
also introduced into magnetic permeability [35].
Table 1
Typical values of parameters.
Constriction resistance parameter, R
1
30
Film resistance parameter, R
2
30
Dimensionless electrode enthalpy, R
E
0.59
Dimensionless electrode magnetic diffusivity, g
E
0.154
Temperature ratio, h
0
1.0
Effective thickness of heat source, E
f
10
-2
Dimensionless static contact resistance, E

0.56
Effective thickness of oxide layer, s 3.3 10
7
Dimensionless electrode thermal conductivity, k
E
11.4
Solid-to-liquid thermal conductivity ratio, k
s
1.0
Parameter governing welding current, Lo 4 10
7
Lengths for electrode, L
1
, L
2
, L
3
, L
4
0.1, 0.5, 0.1, 1.4
Magnetic Prandtl number Pr
m
3 10
4
Workpiece radius, r
b
2.33
Dimensionless electrode tip radius, r
e
0.9
Dimensionless maximum radius of coolant hole, r
c
0.5
Electrode enthalpy parameter, R
E
0.59
Dimensionless Curie temperature, T
c
1.63
Dimensionless eutectic and melting temperatures, T
e
, T
m
5.0, 6.0
Solid-to-liquid permeability ratio, l
rs
/l
r
3500
Dimensionless electrode density, q
E
1.28
Thermal-to-electrical property parameter, R 2.5 10
5
Electrical conductivity ratios, r
sol
; r
E
1.05, 6.5
Current frequency, ~ x 60 Hz
P.S. Wei, T.H. Wu/ International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 33163324 3319
The isothermals in workpieces and electrode for parameters
governing constriction resistance R
1
= 30 and lm resistance
R
2
= 30 are shown on the right- and left-hand parts in Fig. 2(a),
which are at the instants when thicknesses of the liquidus line
d
liq
= 0.4L in the melting period, and d
liq
= 0 as solidication is com-
pleted, respectively. It can be seen that the highest temperature oc-
curs near the center of the workpieces. The molten pool is nearly
rectangular. Ignoring lm resistance, nearly the same thermal pat-
terns are shown in Fig. 2(b). Referring to previous Fig. 2(a), Fig. 2(c)
shows that a decrease in constriction resistance reduces the
growth of nugget thickness.
Dimensionless thickness and width of the molten nugget as
functions of dimensionless time for different parameters governing
constriction resistance are shown in Fig. 3(a). The thickness and
width of the nugget refer to those of the solidus line. Welding AC
is also plotted by a periodic line at the bottom. It can be seen that
reducing constriction resistance delays the onset of the nugget. For
parameter governing constriction resistance R
1
= 30 dimensionless
time for onset of the nugget is around 0.27 (30 cycles = 0.5 s).
Dimensionless onset time increases to 0.43 for R
1
= 1. The growth
of thickness is much less than that of width. The growth rate at
the onset time and freezing rate near the end of solidication are
very high. Fig. 3(b), however, shows that the nugget formation
and its growth are almost independent of lm resistance, being
consistent to previous Fig. 2(a) and (b).
Fig. 4(a) and (b) shows the effects of lm resistance and con-
striction resistance on time-dependent dimensionless dynamic
and bulk resistances, and contact resistances at the faying surface
and workpiece-electrode interface, respectively. Evidently, the ra-
pid drops of dynamic and contact resistances in the early stage
are attributed to lm resistance. In the absence of lm resistance,
drops of contact and dynamic resistances disappear [23]. Contact
and dynamic resistances then increase rapidly due to increases of
Fig. 3. Dimensionless nugget thickness and width as functions of dimensionless
time for different parameters governing (a) constriction resistance, and (b) lm
resistance.
Fig. 2. Dimensionless isothermals in workpieces and electrode at times when
dimensionless nugget thickness d
liq
= 0.4L and zero for (a) parameters governing
constriction resistance R
1
= 30 and lm resistance R
2
= 30, (b) R
1
= 30, R
2
= 0, and (c)
R
1
= 1, R
2
= 30.
3320 P.S. Wei, T.H. Wu/ International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 33163324
constriction and bulk resistances. Peaks result because of de-
creased constriction resistance from reduced hardness and reduc-
tion of increasing rate of bulk resistance, rather than the
formation of nugget at a dimensionless time of around 0.3 (see
Fig. 3(a) or (b)) [23]. Interestingly, the effects of lm resistance
on contact resistances at the faying surface and workpiece-elec-
trode interfaces, bulk and dynamic resistances are insignicant in
the late stage. However, an increase in constriction resistance in-
creases contact resistances, bulk and dynamic resistances.
Fig. 4(c) shows that even though temperature increases slightly,
multiplication of both the decreased lm resistivity and hardness
result in the abrupt drop of lm resistance.
Fig. 5(a) shows the local dimensionless temperature, contact
resistance and electric current density as functions of
dimensionless time at the axisymmetric axis on the faying surface.
It is found that there exists a delayed response time around 6 cy-
cles (0.1 s) of electric current density at the axisymmetric axis on
the faying surface. The delay of response time can be interpreted
as a result of a nite magnetic diffusivity [35]. That is, the distance
for diffusion of magnetic or electric current can be estimated by the
square root of time divided by magnetic permeability and electri-
cal conductivity. Even though local dynamic resistance is high, de-
layed response time for electric current reduces heat generation
and increasing rate of temperature at the axisymmetric location
on the faying surface in the early stage. After the response time,
electric current density jumps, resulting in high heat generation
and signicant increase of temperature. Dimensionless amplitude
of the periodic steady-state electric current density is around 0.4.
It is also seen that electric current density slightly decreases as
Fig. 4. Dimensionless contact, bulk and dynamic resistances for (a) different
parameter governing lm resistance, (b) different parameters governing constric-
tion resistance, and (c) mechanism for abrupt drop of lm resistance at the center of
faying surface (standard case).
Fig. 5. Dimensionless contact resistance, temperature, electric current density and
welding current as functions of dimensionless time for R
1
= 30 and R
2
= 30 at (a)
r = 0, z = 0.4, (b) r = 0.9, z = 0.4, and (c) r = 0.9, z = 0.8.
P.S. Wei, T.H. Wu/ International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 33163324 3321
liquid phase forms after dimensionless time of 0.3. It can be ex-
plained by an enhanced magnetic diffusion due to a decreased
electrical conductivity of the liquid phase. To satisfy Amperes
law, high magnetic diffusion reduces current density. Dimension-
less contact resistance, electric current density and temperature
as functions of dimensionless time at locations of the same radius
as the electrode tip on the faying surface and workpiece-electrode
interface are shown in Fig. 5(b) and (c), respectively. The response
time of electric current and drop of contact resistance in the early
stage decrease for locations away from the axisymmetric axis on
the faying surface. In view of high and instantaneous response time
of electric current density, high heat generation causes a rapid in-
crease of temperature near the edge of the electrode in the early
stage.
Referring to Fig. 5(a), Fig. 6(a) shows that after the initial drop of
contact resistance, an increase in constriction resistance increases
the extent of the jump of contact resistance at the axisymmetric
axis on the faying surface. Interestingly, the response time and
associated jump of electric current density are almost independent
of constriction resistance. Fig. 6(b) shows that delay time and jump
of electric current density at the axisymmetric axis on the faying
surface are also independent of lm resistance by referring to
Fig. 5(a). In contrast to constriction resistance, local contact resis-
tances for different lm resistances are almost the same in the late
stage. Induced temperature thus is insensitive to the variation of
lm resistance during the entire heating, melting and cooling
periods.
Fig. 7(a) shows dimensionless temperatures as functions of
dimensionless time at different locations in workpieces for
different parameters governing lm resistance. Temperature dur-
ing the entire heating, melting and cooling periods at any location
is independent of lm resistance. Temperature near the electrode
edge jumps in an early stage due to enhanced electric current
and innitesimal response time. Even though the increase of tem-
perature is delayed at the axisymmetric axis on the faying surface,
temperature can still override that at a location away from the axi-
symmetric axis on the faying surface in the late stage. The maxi-
mum temperature taking place at the center of workpieces is
slightly above the solidus temperature (around 5.7). The variation
of liquid temperature with time is small as time is greater than 0.3,
as experimentally observed by Alcini [36]. Temperature drops as
power is off at a dimensionless time of 0.54 (see Fig. 3(b)). Dimen-
sionless temperatures as functions of dimensionless time at four
locations in the workpiece for different parameters governing con-
striction resistance are shown in Fig. 7(b). Temperatures at differ-
ent locations increase with constriction resistance.
The ow patterns at the times when thicknesses of the liquidus
line d
liq
= 0.4L and 0.25L for parameters R
1
= 30 and R
2
= 30 are,
respectively, shown on the right- and left-hand parts in Fig. 8(a).
In view of divergent electric current, Lorentz force induces the ver-
tex cell circulating in a counterclockwise direction in the right part
of the upper workpiece. The circulation of the stronger cell on the
Fig. 6. Dimensionless contact resistances, temperature, electric current density and
welding current as functions of dimensionless time at the center of faying surface
for (a) R
1
= 1, R
2
= 30, and (b) R
1
= 30, R
2
= 0.
Fig. 7. Dimensionless temperature history at different locations in workpieces for
(a) different parameter governing lm resistance, and (b) different parameters
governing constriction resistance.
3322 P.S. Wei, T.H. Wu/ International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 33163324
left-hand side, however, is in the counterclockwise direction. As
constriction resistance decreases, similar ow pattern is seen in
the right-hand part of Fig. 8(b). The vortex cell on the left part,
however, becomes clockwise direction. Referring to previous
Fig. 8(a), velocity increases as constriction resistance reduces.
The distribution of solute content plays an important role in
properties and microstructure of weldments [37,38]. Solute distri-
butions in workpieces at times corresponding to a thickness of the
liquidus line d
liq
= 0.4L and zero are shown in the right and left-
hand part of Fig. 9(a), respectively. Regardless of strong convection,
solute distributions at two instant times are similar due to rapid
solidication. Solute accumulated ahead of solidication front is
convected in the counterclockwise direction around the boundary
to interior of the molten nugget, leading to a decit of solute con-
tent in a thin layer around the boundary and an excess of solute
content in the interior of the nugget after solidication. Fig. 9(b)
shows solute distributions in the nugget as constriction resistance
is reduced. The zone of a decit solute on the side boundary is sig-
nicantly expanded. Solute distributions near the side boundary of
the nugget are strongly affected by convection.
This model agrees with a measured relationship between nug-
get thickness and welding current provided by Gould [27] in weld-
ing AISI 1008, as shown in Fig. 10. In this case, initial solute
concentration
^
f
a
m;0
= 0.32 wt% of Mn in a FeMn alloy, the total
Fig. 8. Dimensionless ow patterns in nugget at times when dimensionless nugget
thickness d
liq
= 0.4L and 0.25L for (a) R1 = 30, R2 = 30, and (b) R1 = 1, R2 = 30.
Fig. 9. Dimensionless concentration distributions in nugget at times when dimen-
sionless nugget thickness d
liq
= 0.4L and zero for (a) R1 = 30, R2 = 30, and (b) R1 = 1,
R2 = 30.
Fig. 10. Comparisons of nugget thickness versus welding current in welding AISI
1008 steel between one-dimensional predications and measurements from Gould
[27] and this work.
P.S. Wei, T.H. Wu/ International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 33163324 3323
thickness of workpieces L = 0.715, electrode face radius r
e
= 0.9,
and constriction and lm resistance parameters R
1
= 100 and
R
2
= 50. It shows a better agreement with the experimental result
than the one-dimensional prediction [27].
4. Conclusions
The effects of local electrical resistance on resistance spot weld-
ing are realistically investigated. Based on relevant magneto-uid-
mechanics and model of dynamic electrical resistance accounting
for bulk resistance and contact resistances, the computed nugget
thickness versus welding current agrees well with available exper-
imental data. The conclusions drawn are the following:
(1) The bulk dynamic electrical resistance cannot be used to
reliably predict or control resistance spot welding. For exam-
ple, distributions of temperatures and heat generations
strongly depend on spatial locations and time. In order to
clarify the mechanisms, the local contact resistances includ-
ing different characteristics of lm and constriction resis-
tances and electric current densities at different locations
are required.
(2) Local contact resistance, dynamic and bulk resistance
decrease as constriction resistance decreases. After initial
drops due to lm resistance, local contact resistance and
dynamic resistance jump to the peaks, whose values
decrease with constriction resistance. Since constriction
resistance reduces due to decreased hardness, local contact
resistance and dynamic resistance become gradual
decreases in the late stage.
(3) Transport variables and nugget growth affected by heat gen-
eration can be interpreted by the delay of response time and
associated jump of local electric current density and varia-
tion of local resistance with time.
(4) The response time and associated jump of electric current
density on the faying surface are insensitive to the variations
of lm and constriction resistances.
(5) Although lm resistance dominates in the early stage, its
effects on dynamic, bulk and contact resistances in the late
stage and transport processes during the entire heating,
melting and cooling periods are almost negligible. They are
attributed to small heat generation determined by delayed
response time of electric current in the early stage.
(6) The onset of the weld nugget is delayed and temperature is
decreased by reducing the parameter governing constriction
resistance.
(7) Irrespective of high dynamic and contact resistances, tem-
perature at the axisymmetric axis on the faying surface is
lowest in the workpiece in an early stage, then increases rap-
idly and gradually reduces increasing rate in the late stage.
Temperature becomes the highest in comparison with other
locations in the workpiece in the late stage.
(8) Constriction resistance can change the direction of circula-
tion of the stronger cell in the molten nugget during the
cooling period.
(9) Convection is enhanced and the decit region of solute con-
tent near the side boundary of the nugget expands as con-
striction resistance decreases.
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