Science and Technology of Welding and Joining

ISSN: 1362-1718 (Print) 1743-2936 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ystw20

Welding enabling light weight design of heavy

vehicle chassis

L-E. Svensson, L. Karlsson & R. Söder

To cite this article: L-E. Svensson, L. Karlsson & R. Söder (2015) Welding enabling light weight
design of heavy vehicle chassis, Science and Technology of Welding and Joining, 20:6, 473-482,
DOI: 10.1179/1362171814Y.0000000269

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1179/1362171814Y.0000000269

Published online: 26 Dec 2014.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 419

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Citing articles: 1 View citing articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ystw20
Welding enabling light weight design of heavy
vehicle chassis
L.-E. Svensson*1, L. Karlsson1 and R. Söder2
Development of lightweight cars for saving fuel and reducing emission has been a priority for
more than a decade. A similar trend is now seen for heavy vehicles. Here, however, the chassis
rather than the cab is in focus, since this is by far the heaviest part of the vehicle. Using welding
fabrication has many advantages like larger freedom in choice of material and more compact
design. However, there are also factors like fatigue strength, residual stresses and geometric
distortion, which must be addressed. There are large potentials to save weight in heavy vehicles
by utilising high strength steels or aluminium alloys. In general, existing joining methods can be
used, but new filler materials or recently developed post-weld treatments may be necessary to
fulfil the demands on the components. In this paper, two examples are given, showing possible
weight reduction solutions. In both cases, welding plays a central role.
Keywords: Welding, Heavy vehicles, Chassis, High strength steels, Aluminium

This paper is part of a special issue on Problems in the Welding of Automotive Alloys

Introduction long distance transports or really heavy transport. Here,

The problem with emissions from heavy vehicles started to
become an issue in the end of the 1990s. These vehicles, like
trucks, buses and construction equipment, are all mostly
powered by diesel engines. The emission from these engines
contains, besides CO2, a significant amount of particles and
nitrogen gases (commonly abbreviated NOX). Regulations
were enforced in both U.S., Japan and Europe, but with
slightly different schemes and aims. Figure 1 shows some-
what schematically how the different steps in the pro-
grammes in the U.S. and Europe were planned. The
regulations had the status of a law: if a supplier did not meet
the requirements after the law was in force, no new vehicles
could be sold. Older vehicles that were already on the
market were allowed to continue to operate with the older
version of the engine. The last of these regulations was
Euro6, which was launched 2013. As can be understood
from the diagram in Fig. 1, the amount of hazardous
particles and NOX now emitted from heavy diesel engines is
on extremely low values, compared to previous levels, and
further improvements may be difficult to make.
There have, of course, been other actions taken to
reduce emissions. In 2009, Volvo launched a hybrid
diesel engine, with the main application for buses in city
traffic. Just as for other hybrid or electric engines, the
size, weight, price and life of the batteries are important
considerations. Another alternative is gas fuelled
engines, which also is in operation in many cities.
However, these techniques are not really suitable for
1
Department of Engineering Science, University West, SE-46186
Trollhättan, Sweden
2
Department of Chassis & Vehicle Dynamics, Volvo Group Trucks
Technology, SE-40508, Göteborg, Sweden
*Corresponding author, email lars-erik.svensson@hv.se
still the traditional diesel engine is the only alternative.
The technical solutions for reduction in particles and
NOX vary between manufacturers, but the most common
ways are either to increase the inlet pressure for improved
combustion, to use exhaust gas recycling (EGR) or to use
selective catalytic reduction (SCR). Combination of the
techniques is of course also possible.
The improved combustion is an apparently straightfor-
ward way, but it has proven impossible to use this as the
only tool to meet the requirements for the more strict
levels. In EGR, the exhaust gas is recycled back into
the combustion chamber, and thus, a more complete
combustion is achieved, reducing the amount of particles.
The exhaust gas is cooled in a thermal converter, which in
turn increase the efficiency of the whole combustion
process. Thus, the EGR not just decrease the number of
emitted particles but also improve the fuel economy of the
engine. This, in turn, also decreases the emission of CO2.
In the SCR, NOX is taken care of. Through a catalytic
reaction, NOX gases are converted to nitrogen and water. To
assist in the reactions, urea is added into the exhaust gas
stream. The SCR is the only viable solution for NOX
reduction, and all diesel engines conforming to EU5 and EU6
as well as US10 and US12, use this technique. The drawbacks
with the technique are that is uses palladium as catalytic
element, urea must be added implying that an extra tank with
urea must be provided and that the driver must fill urea as
well as diesel and that the SCR unit is relatively heavy, adding
weight to the engine and thus to the vehicle in total.
After these improvements of the environmental issues
for the heavy diesel engines, the issue of CO2 emissions is
starting to be highlighted. This can now mainly be met
by increased pay load, meaning that the weight of heavy
trucks for example is more and more in focus. In this
respect, the SCR solution is counterproductive, since it

ß 2015 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Published by Maney on behalf of the Institute
Received 10 December 2014; accepted 11 December 2014
DOI 10.1179/1362171814Y.0000000269 Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2015 VOL 20 NO 6 473

1 Illustrating how different regulations (U.S. is for United State regulations and EU is for European Union regulations)
for emissions of particles (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) from heavy diesel engines are diminished. Last two steps
(US12 and EU6) are not shown on the graph. Number following U.S. denominates year when regulation will come into
force
increases the weight. A special issue in this context is
that the installation increases the load on the front axle,
which can be a potential problem.
In the car business, the work for lighter vehicles has
proceeded for many years. This has led to the introduc-
tion of a lot of high strength steels, and in later years, the
amount of lightweight metals, like aluminium and
magnesium, has increased. The introduction of high
strength steels is not just for the sake of lightweight but
also for improved crashworthiness. However, the weight
reduction has been successful with respect to keeping the
total weight of the car constant, despite that many
functions, increasing weight, have been added. There
also are some cars with the body in white made from
aluminium. The Audi A2 model was launched in 1999,
and in 2002, Jaguar launched a fully aluminium car.
Ford 2014 introduced an aluminium pick up vehicle. In
more extreme cars, like F1, the cars contain a large
amount of carbon reinforced polymers (CRPs). This
may become an alternative also for passenger cars in the
future. For both cars and trucks, CRP has been used
occasionally for the roof. However, so far, the existing
CRP products are not suitable for mass production.
For heavy vehicles, the body in white corresponds to
the cab. The weight of the cab is ,500 kg, while the
total weight of the vehicle is ,9000 kg. In cars, the
weight of a body in white is a large fraction of the total
weight of the car. Thus, weight savings on the body in
white is very important, while for trucks for example,
weight savings of the cab may be of interest, but for
other reasons than for reducing the total weight of the
vehicle. To make any significant weight reduction in a
heavy vehicle, weight saving must take place in the
chassis and possibly in the engine.
In both the truck and automotive industries, a range
of joining processes are employed. For body in white of
cars and truck cabs, mainly spot welding is used, assisted
by some laser welding and arc welding. Limited amount
of arc brazing may also be found. Mechanical fastening
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Svensson et al. Welding enabling light weight design of heavy vehicle chassis
with self-piercing rivets or clinch joining is used, and
adhesive joining has increased significantly during the
last years in automotive industry. For the chassis,
usually having thicker base material, gas metal arc
welding is relatively common, usually made as fillet
welds. Chassis components are mainly supplied by
subsuppliers who make the welds. Thus, the welding
method can vary depending on preferred method by the
specific supplier. Friction welding is often used, as well
as methods like magnetically impelled arc butt welding.
Laser welding is employed by some suppliers (although
still fairly rare), and even single cases with electron beam
welding for very special applications can be found.
However, in most cases, traditional gas metal arc
welding is used. Still, few components are made from
aluminium, but for these components, friction stir
welding can sometimes be found.
The present paper is not a traditional research paper,
reporting new discoveries. The aim is instead to illustrate
how welding can increase the potential to achieve weight
savings in heavy trucks and from there briefly discuss
future challenges in this area. The proposed solutions
include use of high strength steels and aluminium. Thus,
some modern advancement in the welding of these alloys
and the consequences for the mechanical properties are
reviewed.
Chassis design considerations
The main part of the truck from a weight perspective
is the chassis. The chassis consist of a number of
components, like beams, cross-beams, axles, suspen-
sions, antiroll bars, reaction rods and fuel tanks. Some
parts of a chassis from a truck are shown in Fig. 2.
The detailed design of the chassis is an important key to
the performance of a truck, and therefore, manufacturers
are reluctant to show too many details of their design.
The main function of the chassis is to carry the load
from the goods that is transported. Owing to the road
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 474
 Svensson et al. Welding enabling light weight design of heavy vehicle chassis

plates with very high strength is being explored. This

naturally demands more welding in the components.
Another route to explore is to use lightweight alloys
like aluminium. Although aluminium alloys are more
difficult to weld, there are components where this is
unavoidable.

Material and welding processes for

2 Schematic sketch of truck chassis, showing frame,
cross-beams, stabiliser bars, wheel axles and suspen-
sion; reproduced with permission of AB Volvo
condition, this will impose a lot of different load cases on
various parts of the chassis. Thus, stiffness in both bending
and rotation is a very important feature. The loading
spectrum is naturally very complicated and also very
different depending on the application of the truck. For
long distance transports, in general, the roads are very
smooth, and the load pattern is very even, very seldom
containing any large load peaks. The opposite situation
occurs for example for construction or timber trucks.
Here, the road, if it even exists, is highly uneven, and the
chassis is subjected to several very high peak loads.
However, in both cases, it may happen that the truck hits
some unexpected obstacles, like pot holes, which give rise
to one very high overload peak. All these different load
patterns will influence the fatigue life of the chassis and
must be taken into consideration in the design.
One further fact that influences the design of the
chassis is packing. There are often more components or
better components needed than there is room for. Thus,
improvement in packing potential is a strong driving
force when designing new chassis.
Traditionally, the different parts of the chassis are
made from steel plates (beams), wrought steel (link arms
for example) and cast iron (suspension brackets). Special
components like leaf suspension are made from spring
steels and fuel tanks from aluminium.
Several joining methods are employed. The main
joining method is mechanical fastening, i.e. bolts and
rivets, while welding is used only to a limited extent.
However, with increased focus on packaging and also
on lightweight trucks, the possibility to utilise tubes and
lightweight design
Two different cases will be discussed, illustrating the
issues associated with designing components to have
light weight but still meet (or exceed) the design
requirements. Other requirements that also must be
met is of course that the component shall be possible to
produce in large quantities with constant quality and
that the cost of the component does not increase. The
first case concern, the use of high strength steels, and a
brief review of the current position with respect to
welding of high strength steels are given.
Current issues in welding of high strength
steels
In this context, it is appropriate to discuss the welding
and weldability of high strength steels. Generally, with
high strength steels here, we mean steels with yield
strength .700 MPa. These steels are usually quench and
tempered or direct quenched, although for the lowest
range, thin sheet steels may be manufactured by
thermomechanical rolling. With the quench and temper
process, a high strength can be achieved and still the
alloying content can be kept low. Table 1 shows some
examples of high strength steels with their nominal
compositions. The relatively lean alloying in turn gives
good weldability and high impact toughness. Table 2
show the carbon equivalent values calculated according
to two different formulas. The thicker the steel, the more
alloying additions are needed, to compensate for the
slower cooling in the centre of the plate. In Table 3, the
mechanical properties are given. Although not very
clear, the carbon equivalent is increasing with increasing
strength. The carbon equivalent is a kind of measure of
how easy it is to weld the steel, but several more factors
need to be accounted for. Welding high strength steels
requires more attention than welding lower strength
steels. Mainly, it is the amount of preheat necessary that
must be considered and to some extent the heat input,
since this affects the size and properties of the heat
affected zone (HAZ).
The tables only present steels from one supplier, but
there are several other suppliers having similar range of
steels.

Table 1 Example of high strength steels from SSAB*

Steel C max Si max Mn max Cr max Cu max Ni max Mo max B max Al (min) Nb max V max Ti max

Weldox 700 0?20 0?6 1?6 0?7 0?3 2?0 0?7 0?005
Domex 700 MC 0?12 0?10 2?10 0?015 0?09 0?20 0?15
Weldox 900 0?20 0?50 1?6 0?70 0?30 1?5 0?70 0?005 0?018 0?04 0?06 0?04
Domex 960
(26 mm thickness) 0?18 0?50 2?10 0?018
Weldox 960 0?20 0?50 1?6 0?7 0?15 1?5 0?70 0?005
Weldox 1100 0?21 0?50 1?40 0?80 0?10 3?0 0?70 0?005
Weldox 1300 0?25 0?50 1?4 0?80 0?10 3?0 0?70 0?005
*The chemical analysis given is a heat analysis. All figures are in wt-%, and all values are the maximum allowed content, except for Al.
Phosphorus and sulphur values are not given. They are very low (typically 0?005% or less).

Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2015 VOL 20 NO 6 475


There are three issues related to welding of high
strength steels, which have been on the agenda for more
than one decade. First, the risk of hydrogen induced
cold cracking should be addressed. Second, the mechan-
ical properties of the weld metal, in particular the impact
toughness, have developed significantly lately. Finally,
the fatigue properties of welded structures are always an
issue and become even more in focus with increased
strength of the steels. Here, the hydrogen cracking and
mechanical property issues will be briefly reviewed, while
fatigue properties are treated in Case 1 section.
Although weldability of the steels can be classified
as good, very often preheat is necessary to prevent
hydrogen assisted cold cracking to occur. One special
issue in this connection is that the preheat more often is
necessary for avoiding cold cracking in the weld metal,
instead of the HAZ of the base metal, which is found
when welding lower strength steels. This scenario has
been extensively studied over the years.1–3
Nevasmaa3 made a thorough examination of the weld
metal cracking phenomena with respect to high strength
steels. He noted that there are few guidelines, and they
do not agree on certain points for the case of multipass
weldments for recommending preheat temperatures.
There is a controversy if the plate thickness should be
considered as a factor, and also, the effect of heat input
is not clear. The cracks start often in the filling layers of
the weld, where there are high tensile residual stress and
the hydrogen has accumulated. Nevasmaa studied weld
metals in the range of 480–900 MPa. He constructed a
scheme from which the safe preheat and interpass
temperatures could be found. The critical elements in
this scheme were the amount of diffusible hydrogen, the
carbon equivalent (expressed as CET) and the built up
thickness of the weld. The applicability of the equation
is limited to heat input between 2 and 5 kJ mm21 and to
multipass welds. The other parameters covered a wide
range of applications. However, present day weld metals
have now reached to somewhat higher strength levels, so
there might be a need for further development.4
The reason for cracking to occur in the weld metal
instead of the HAZ is that weld metals with strength
level .700 MPa must be relatively highly alloyed. The
strength of the weld metals comes essentially from a
martensitic/bainitic matrix combined with some solid
solution hardening. During welding, the hydrogen
Table 2 Max carbon equivalent values, CET and CEV (in brackets) for different thicknesses*
Steel 25 (5)–(10) 10–(20)
Weldox 700 0?34 (0?48) 0?31 (0?48) 0?31 (0?48)
Domex 700 MC Not specified
Weldox 900 0?39 (0?58)
(for 4?0–80?0
mm thickness)
Domex 960 0?34 (0?50)
(26 mm
thickness)
Weldox 960 0?37 (0?57) 0?38 (0?58) 0?38 (0?58)
Weldox 1100 0?37 (0?57) 0?38 (0?58) 0?39 (0?62)
(28 mm) (8–12 mm)
Weldox 1300 0?43 (0?67)
(4–10 mm)
*CET5 Cz (MnzMo)/10z(CrzCu)/20zNi/40; CEV5CzMn/6z(CrzMozV)/5z(CuzNi)/15.
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Svensson et al. Welding enabling light weight design of heavy vehicle chassis
atoms are contained in the austenite during cooling.
Usually, the steel transforms to martensite at a higher
temperature than the weld metal does; thus, there is no
driving force to diffuse the hydrogen atoms away from
the weld metal. At the temperature where the weld metal
finally forms martensite, the temperature is quite low
and the diffusivity of hydrogen is low, so the hydrogen
accumulates in the weld metal. Therefore, the risk of
hydrogen cracking shifts from the HAZ to the weld
metal. To avoid this, it may be necessary with a soaking
treatment, i.e. the welded joint is kept at an elevated
temperature for a long time (maybe 24 h), so that the
hydrogen concentration levels out between weld metal
and steel.
The second issue when welding high strength steels is
the strength and toughness of the complete welded joint.
During the last two decades, there has been a significant
development in consumables giving both high strength
and high impact toughness. In 1990, the limit for
consumables usable for advanced constructions was
given as max 700 MPa in yield strength.5 However,
around the turn off the millennium, a number of papers
appeared describing development of new consumables
with higher strength and acceptable impact toughness
values.6–11 A more systematic understanding of factors
controlling strength and impact toughness in weld
metals with yield strength .700 MPa started to emerge.
There were both ideas about a better utilisation of the
acicular ferrite, for weld metals with slightly enhanced
strength,10 as well as development of high Ni low Mn
consumables.9,11 The effect of variation in weld metal
composition around these ideas was described in a series
of papers.12–17 The advantage of these weld metal
compositions was that they relied on a bainitic micro-
structure and thus were relatively insensitive to cooling
rate variations, while the high strength consumables
using a leaner alloying concept are more susceptible to
cooling rate variations.18
Another factor that becomes very crucial for obtain-
ing high impact toughness is the oxide inclusions that
are an integral part of weld metals. The number density
and size of the inclusions have a strong influence on
impact toughness since they act as starting point for
brittle cleavage fracture. This was for example demon-
strated by Terashima and Bhadeshia, studying the
influence of oxygen content for a range of weld metal
20–(40) 40–(80) 80–(100) 100–160
0?36 (0?52) 0?39 (0?58) 0?39 (0?58) 0?41 (0?67)
0?38 (0?58) 0?41 (0?67)
(20–35 mm) (35–100 mm)
0?39 (0?62) 0?42 (0?73)
(12–15 mm) (15–40 mm)
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 476

strength levels. For higher strength, with predominantly
martensitic structure, lower oxygen levels and smaller
oxides resulted in higher impact toughness.19,20 Thus,
the oxygen content in high strength weld metals should
be kept at a low value. The implication is of course to
use basic type consumables for the slag shielded
processes and as low CO2 content as possible in
shielding gases. However, for weld metals having a
bainitic rather than a martensitic microstructure, it is
not obvious that as low oxygen content as possible is the
best solution. Without complete understanding of the
mechanisms, it seems that the oxide particles influence
the outline of the bainitic microstructure, and thus, just
as for lower strength weld metals, a certain amount of
oxides with correct composition is vital for achieving
good impact toughness.21
The development of the weld metals during the first
decade of the third millennium AD has been sum-
marised in a stimulating and fascinating review,22
containing much more details, explanations and aspects
of this complex problem. However, during the last years,
it turned out that consumable manufacturers preferred
weld metals with approximately 1–2% manganese and
2–4% nickel, supported by chromium and molybdenum
additions. Thus, development is more or less back to the
initial basic compositions from the very first attempts to
develop high strength weld metals.23 However, the
understanding of how composition and welding condi-
tions affect microstructure and properties has been
significantly enhanced, and modern consumables give
more consistent properties than previous types.
In a recent paper,4 it was shown that modern filler
metals may achieve a yield strength of ,1000 MPa
maximum. Thus, for steels with yield strength up to
960 MPa, there exists consumables that provide over-
matching strength. Steels with yield strength .1100 MPa
will be welded with undermatching strength in the weld
metal. This may give some limitation to how the joint
may be located with respect to loading in the compo-
nent. Figure 3 shows the yield and tensile strength
achieved in a recent investigation, when welding with
different welding processes and with different cooling
times. This illustrates the maximum strength levels that
can be achieved today, when also the impact toughness
shall be adequate. It can be seen that there are some
scatter in the figure. Most likely, this is due to variation
in cooling time of the weld metal and number of beads.
The microstructure of these welds is bainitic/martensitic,
and small variations in cooling time affect the micro-
structure and also the mechanical properties. Here, it
should be mentioned that strength of weld metals is
Table 3 Minimum mechanical properties of high strength steels
Steel Rp0?2/MPa Rm/MPa
Weldox 700 700 780–930
Domex 700 MC 700 750–950
Weldox 900 (4?0–53?0 mm thickness) 900 940–1100
Domex 960 (2 6 mm thickness) 960 980–1250
Weldox 960 (4–53 mm) 960 980–1150
Weldox 1100 (5–40 mm thickness) 1100 1250–1550
Weldox 1300 (4?0–10?0 mm) 1300 1400–1700
*Transverse testing.
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Svensson et al. Welding enabling light weight design of heavy vehicle chassis
relatively easy to obtain. The challenge is to combine
strength and toughness.
One further point worth noting is the risk of
solidification cracking. For most of the steels considered
above, the carbon content is ,0?2 wt-%. However, there
are a number of quench and tempered steels containing
carbon ,0?4 wt-%. Here, solidification cracking is more
common than hydrogen assisted cold cracking. Carbon
is an important element together with sulphur and
phosphorous in creating solidification cracking. To
avoid this, the common measures need to be paid
attention to. The dilution of the weld metal with
elements from the steel should be kept as low as
possible, the depth to width ratio of the weld pool
should be close to one and the restraint across the weld
should be low.
As noted above, laser hybrid welding of the high
strength steel joint was not recommended due to the fear
of brittleness, especially in the root region. There is very
little published on laser hybrid welding of high strength
steels. In the investigation cited above,4 also laser hybrid
welding was used. It was possible to weld a 12 mm thick
steel of both Weldox 700 and Weldox 1100 without any
cracking problems. The yield strength of the weld metal
was somewhat lower than for the other weld methods
used, while the tensile strength was in parity with the
other methods. The impact toughness was somewhat
low, but on the whole, the mechanical properties of the
laser hybrid welds were acceptable. So, obviously, this
method should be considered as a candidate also for
welding high strength steels.
Case 1. Use of very high strength steels
An antiroll bar was to be designed changing from a
production route employing wrought steel to a tube with
attachment plates welded to it. The main driving force
for the development was packing – with a welded
component, important space savings could be made. The
proposed solution was to have a tube of quench and
tempered steel with a high yield strength (,1300 MPa)
and weld this to the attaching plates. The plates are
subjected to lower stress; so here, a quench and
tempered steel with 700 MPa yield strength was
proposed. With this design, several kilograms of weight
was gained at the same time.
One of the main discussion points was the welding
process to be used for joining the tube to the plates.
Several factors had to be taken into account. First, the
production process had to be very productive since the
component was estimated to be produced in .100 000
pieces a year. Connected to this is of course that the
welding operation should not add any significant cost to
Elongation Typical hardness
A5/% /HBW Min impact toughness/J*
14 260–310 69/2-40uC (grade E)
12 27/240uC (grade E)
12 300–350 27/240uC (grade E)
8 27/240uC (grade E)
12 310–370 40/240uC (grade E)
10 425–475 27/240uC (grade E)
8 425–475 27/240uC (grade E)
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 477

3 Yield and tensile strength of weld metals, as function of chemical composition, expressed as carbon equivalent
Pcm5CzSi/30zMn/20zCu/20zNi/60zCr/20zMo/15zV/10z5B, with all figures in wt-%. Data come from large series
of experiments with different consumables, different welding processes and different cooling times for weld metals
the component. Furthermore, since quality has to be
even, a mechanised welding process was required. In
addition, since fit up is a critical point in assembly, the
manufacturing process had to deliver components with
very small variations in geometry.
From the mechanical point of view, both static
strength and fatigue were an issue. The components
can locally be subjected to high forces, and even if these
points were not very close to the welded joint, the width
of the HAZ should be limited. However, the point
causing most concern was the fatigue properties. This
was naturally due to the well known fact that for welded
joints, no improvement in fatigue life with increasing
base material strength is found. Thus, even if the
component can be made lighter with respect to static
loads, the fatigue loading will cause the need for thicker
material and then the weight saving advantage is lost.
Alternative welding processes were discussed for this
component. Mainly, friction welding, laser hybrid
welding and gas metal arc welding were evaluated.
Despite the fact that gas metal arc welding was assumed
to be the worst alternative from a fatigue point of view,
this was finally the process of choice. Friction welding
was dismissed for practical reasons. There was no big
enough friction welding machine for making samples to
be tested. Laser hybrid welding was not seen as a
realistic alternative, due to the rapid cooling that the
lower part of the weld (essentially being laser welded)
would be subjected to. It was assumed that a very brittle
microstructure could develop with a significant risk for
cracking. The penetration of the weld was otherwise
seen as an advantage, since fatigue failure from the root
side would be prevented, although a fairly powerful laser
source would be needed to guarantee full penetration.
To obtain a functional welded joint, the tube was fitted
into a machined hole in the leg plate. The hole was made
with a 45uchamfer as a symmetric X joint, so that full
penetration welding could be made. The joint was filled
with one root pass and two filling passes from each side.
To evaluate the fatigue properties, a programme was
started where a model of the component (Fig. 4a) was
tested in torsion in a specially designed rig (Fig. 4b). For
this test sample, a bar was used instead of a tube.
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Svensson et al. Welding enabling light weight design of heavy vehicle chassis
A macrograph of the welds before testing is shown in
Fig. 5. Testing of this specimen resulted in a fatigue
fracture as shown in Fig. 6a and b, where the crack
started in the weld metal, close to the weld toe, but then
rapidly propagated into the HAZ.
Unfortunately, this testing method did not work for
lower loads and longer testing times, due to significant
heating of the specimen and the test rig. Instead,
research now is focusing on understanding how the
common factors responsible for fatigue failure of welded
components (geometry, residual stresses and defects) are
contributing to the fatigue failure. Here, a much more
simplified test specimen is used. Initially, the effect of
reducing the residual stress level using low temperature
transformation filler material as well as shot peening is
investigated. The beneficial effect of using low tempera-
ture transformation consumables has been verified a
number of times,24–28 but not for these very high
strength steels.
Within the International Institute of Welding and in
recent projects, the possibility to improve the fatigue life
using high frequency metal impact technique has been
examined. At present, steels with yield strength up to
700 MPa have been thoroughly examined,29 and steels
with yield strength up to 1100 MPa are under investiga-
tion. The high frequency metal impact technique seems to
provide a way to obtain increased fatigue strength of the
welded joint with increased steel strength. The treatment
improves the geometry of the weld through both a larger
weld toe radius and lower the residual stress (even turning
it into compressive stresses). However, the exact mechan-
ism for improvement is not clear.
The conclusion from this work is that it is possible to
achieve a substantial weight gain using very high
strength steels and use welding for fabrication of the
component. However, clearly, there is a potential for
further improvements in weight saving, but this may be
at a cost for post-weld treatment of the weld toes. What
should be stressed is that even if a high strength steel is
used, it is a steel that was easily accessible on the market,
which had been produced for a long time and where the
properties were well known. The joining method chosen
was traditional gas metal arc welding, using a wire with
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 478

4 a model of test specimen, showing two plates welded to bar (reproduced with permission of Dr A. Azar, Sintef,
Norway), and b sketch of set-up for testing fatigue in torsion of welded assembly (reproduced with permission of Dr
A. Azar, Sintef, Norway)
5 Macrograph of cross-section through bar, showing how
plate is attached to bar by welding; small root defect
was found in weld
mechanical properties matching the strength of the
plate, i.e. ,700 MPa yield strength. So, significant
weight reductions can be achieved with relatively
standard material and joining method, but with a design
where these facts were taken into account.
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Svensson et al. Welding enabling light weight design of heavy vehicle chassis
Current issues in welding aluminium alloys
Aluminium alloys are conventionally divided into hard-
enable and non-hardenable alloys. The hardenable
alloys are alloyed with elements that can precipitate fine
particles after heat treatment. The most well known are
the Cu alloyed, the Mg–Si alloyed and the Zn alloyed
types. By heat treatment and aging, very high strength
can be attained.
The non-hardenable types are alloyed with either
manganese or magnesium. The strength of these alloys
can be increased through deformation.
Cast aluminium is alloyed with silicon. The Al–Si
alloy has a eutectic point at y12% Si. The cast material
can contain different amounts of silicon, such as 5, 7, 9
and 12%.
Welding of both hardenable and non-hardenable
alloys means loss of strength.30,31 Usually, 50–80% of
the strength of the alloy remains in the weld metal and
HAZ. In fusion welding, the strength of the weld metal
depends on the filler metal used. The consumables are
either of Al–Si or Al–Mg type. Al–Si consumables give
weld metals with higher strength, but are also more
brittle. Al–Mg weld metals have higher ductility but are
softer. There is also a risk for solidification cracking
when using Al–Mg weld metals in Mg–Si alloyed
aluminium.
The weldability of all aluminium alloys are good,
except for the Cu alloyed variants, which are very
difficult to weld by fusion methods due to the high
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 479

6 a cracking in bar from fatigue loading, and b close up of fatigue crack, starting in weld metal, near weld toe; repro-
duced with permission of Dr A. Azar, Sintef, Norway
7 Axles of trucks, as example of components that could
be made from aluminium in order to decrease weight;
reproduced with permission of AB Volvo
propensity for solidification cracking. Gas metal arc and
gas tungsten arc welding are the most common methods.
However, friction stir welding has become a very
common method for aluminium welding also.
Except for the loss of strength around the weld zone,
the distortions during welding are the largest problem.
The thermal expansion coefficient of aluminium is much
higher than steel. Therefore, low heat input welding
methods have a large advantage. The friction stir
welding method gives very small distortions, since the
aluminium does not melt during welding.
Laser welding of aluminium is used quite extensively.32
However, one problem is the high reflectivity of
aluminium for the laser light, which earlier led to
difficulties to couple the laser light to the material. With
the development the recent years, with more powerful
lasers, this problem is now more or less overcome. With
the low heat input from the laser source, less distortion
occurs. This also gives a smaller HAZ, which also is
beneficial. As always with laser welding, the need for
small variations in joint preparation is large. Here, laser
hybrid welding may provide a better solution.33
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Svensson et al. Welding enabling light weight design of heavy vehicle chassis
Case 2. Substitution of cast iron components
with cast aluminium
In the first case, significant work had already been made,
and thus, a somewhat deeper description of the case
could be made. Case 2 is a much newer idea, where
almost nothing on the experimental side has been made
yet. Thus, the presentation will be much shorter and
merely present ideas, not actual results.
A significant weight reduction can be gained using
aluminium instead of steel, but the difference in proper-
ties other than density must be taken into account. The
strength of aluminium is in general lower than for steel,
and the shear modulus is just one-third of that for steel,
meaning that torsional stiffness is reduced by the same
amount for identically shaped components. Further,
aluminium has considerably larger thermal expansion
coefficient, increasing the risk for significant distortion
during welding. So, there are many challenges to address
when aluminium is substituted for steel or cast iron.
There are several examples of components where
aluminium potentially can be used. In Fig. 7, the front
axle of a truck is shown. This is traditionally made from
cast iron.
Cost effectiveness usually requires that cast alumi-
nium is used. However, traditional sand casting or die
casting generally gives a cast metal with a large amount
of defects and inclusions, leading to low quality fusion
welds. The alternative is to use friction stir welding as
joining method, if this can be arranged from a practical
standpoint. One further question in this approach is,
assuming that welds of adequate quality can be made, if
the cast aluminium itself has good enough properties.
The risk is that so much more material must be added to
compensate for low base metal properties, that the gain
in material weight will be insignificant.
A new possibility has however emerged relatively
recently, the semisolid metal casting method. Here, the
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 480

material is cast at a temperature in between the liquidus
and solidus temperatures. If the melt is controlled within
a very narrow temperature range (5–10uC), it becomes
thixotropic and can be cast. The quality in terms of
defects is much higher in semisolid metal than in for
example die cast components.
Since the defect level is low, the chance for fusion
welding is increased. Still, to keep distortions under
control, the heat input needs to be as low as possible.
Thus, laser welding could be the most interesting
alternative. However, during casting, there is an oxide
layer on the surface that could be detrimental to the
quality of the welds. Another alternative could be the
cold metal transfer (CMT) technique, giving slightly
higher heat input and a wider, less deep bead. The CMT
technique has been proven to give very stable, spatter
free transfer of drops and with a smooth transition to
the base material. Thus, the possibility to achieve fairly
good fatigue properties is high. However, the small
penetration depth may lead to fatigue cracking from the
root rather than from the weld toe. As always with
aluminium, friction stir welding is an alternative. This
technique can provide deep penetration, dictated by the
size of the pin in the tool, and the surface of the weld is
usually well in level with the base material surface. The
CMT technique however would be faster, as long as one
single pass is enough to provide the strength necessary.
There are still many unsolved questions before this
technique can be applied, but projects that are about to
start will address many of these issues and clarify how
likely this solution is as a way forward to radically
decrease the weight of heavy vehicles.
Once again, an attempt to develop lightweight
components can be made using relatively conventional
material and joining methods. In this particular case, the
base material is somewhat more novel, and one of the
newer variants of gas metal arc welding is suggested to
be used.
Conclusions
Decreasing the weight of heavy trucks can be made by
several different changes in materials. For most chassis
components, the only realistic materials to use are steel
and aluminium. For a few components, there may be
other possibilities. Carbon reinforced polymers have
been considered as an alternative for a long time and are
used in special vehicle applications. However, the
challenge is to be able to use it in high volume
production. Another alternative that has been used,
but was dismissed, is to replace aluminium with duplex
stainless steel. Since the strength of duplex stainless steel
is much higher than that of aluminium, much slimmer
and lighter tanks could be made. However, the cost was
considered too high.
Thus, many different solutions can be considered, and
certainly, most components can be scrutinized and
alternative materials can be suggested. At the same
time, it must be realised that changes in material often
require changes in design of the components. Joining
methods may be less affected. There is already a wide
range of joining methods, and these will certainly be
further improved. The main development of joining
methods is driven by the need for better productivity.
Sometimes, this only relates to productivity of the
joining process in itself, i.e. higher welding speed or
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Svensson et al. Welding enabling light weight design of heavy vehicle chassis
more deposited filler material per unit time. Even better
is if the productivity of the whole procedure, from
preparation of the workpiece before welding to final
correction of the welded component after completed
welding, can be improved, e.g. by avoiding costly
straightening operations. This, together with effective
post-weld treatments to improve fatigue life, forms a
solid base for future development of lightweight heavy
vehicles.
Acknowledgements
Dr A. Azar, Sintef, Norway, is acknowledged for
the permission to use Figs. 4–6. Financial support of
the KK-foundation, the Swedish Energy Agency and the
Swedish Innovation Agency is gratefully acknowledged.
References
1. P. H. M. Hart: ‘Resistance to hydrogen cracking in steel weld
metals’, Weld. J. Res. Suppl., 1986, 14-s–22-s.
2. N. Okuda, Y. Ogata, Y. Nishikawa, T. Aoki, A. Goto and T. Abe:
‘Hydrogen-induced cracking susceptibility in high strength weld
metal’, Weld. J. Res. Suppl., 1987, 141-s–146-s.
3. P. Nevasmaa: ‘Prevention of weld metal hydrogen cracking in high
strength multipass welds’, Weld. World, 2004, 48, 5/6.
4. L. Karlsson, L-E Svensson and K. Hurtig: ‘Efficient welding of
high strength steels’, Proc. 6th Swedish Production Symp.,
Göteborg, Sweden, September 2014.
5. A. Backman, B.-O. Gustafsson and L.-E. Svensson: ‘Consumables
for the 1990’s’, Mater. Des., 1990, 11, 6, 291–300.
6. D. J. Widgery, L. Karlsson, M. Murugananat and E. Keehan:
‘Approaches to the development of high strength weld metals’,
Proc. 2nd Int. Symp. on ‘High strength steels’, Stiklestad, Verdal,
Norway, 2002, European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
7. J. Liao, H. Kametani, H. Okada and K. Ikeuchi: ‘Toughness of
weld metals of 950 MPa high strength steels’, Proc. 7th Int. Symp.
on ‘Today and tomorrow in science and technology of welding and
joining’, Kobe, Japan, 2001, Japan Welding Society.
8. W. Wang and S. Liu: ‘Alloying and microstructural management in
developing SMAW electrodes for HSLA-100 steel’, Weld. J. Res.
Suppl., 2002, 81, 7, 132-s–145-s.
9. B. Y. Kang, H. J. Kim and S. K. Hwang: ‘Effect of Ni and Mn on
the variation in of the microstructure and mechanical properties of
low-carbon weld metals’, ISIJ Int., 2000, 40, 12, 1237–1245.
10. D. P. Fairchild, M. L. Macai, N. V. Bangaru and J. Y. Koo: ‘Girth
welding development for X120 linepipe in ISOPE-2003’, Proc. 13th
Int. Offshore and Polar Eng. Conf., Honolulu, HI, USA, 2003,
International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers.
11. M. Murungananth, H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia, E. Keehan, H.-O.
Andren and L. Karlsson: ‘Strong and tough ferritic steel welds’, in
‘Mathematical modelling of weld phenomena 6’, (eds. H. Cerjak
and H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia), 205–230; 2002, London, Maney
Publishing.
12. L. Karlsson, E. Keehan, H-O. Andren and H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia:
‘Development of high strength steel weld metals – potential of high-
Ni compositions’, Proc. Eurojoin 5, Vienna, Austria, 2004, EWF and
SZA, Paper V6.
13. E. Keehan, L. Karlsson and H.-O. Andren: ‘Influence of C, Mn
and Ni on strong steel weld metals: Part 1, Effect of nickel content’,
Sci. Technol. Weld. Joining, 2006, 11, 1–8,
14. E. Keehan, L. Karlsson, H.-O. Andren and H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia:
‘Influence of C, Mn and Ni on strong steel welds: Part 2, Impact
toughness gain from manganese reductions’, Sci. Technol. Weld.
Joining, 2006, 11, 9–18.
15. E. Keehan, L. Karlsson, H-O. Andren and H. K. D. H Bhadeshia:
‘Influence of C, Mn and Ni on strong steel welds: Part 3, Increased
strength from carbon additions’, Sci. Technol. Weld. Joining, 2006,
11, 19–24.
16. E. Keehan, L. Karlsson, H-O. Andren and L-E. Svensson: ‘New
developments with C-Mn-Ni high strength steel weld metals, part A
– microstructure’, Weld. J. Res. Suppl., 2006, 200-s–210-s.
17. E. Keehan, L. Karlsson, H-O. Andren and L-E. Svensson: ‘New
developments with C-Mn-Ni high strength steel weld metals, part B
– properties’, Weld. J. Res. Suppl., 2006, 218-s–224-s.
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 481

18. E. Keehan, J. Zachrisson and L. Karlsson: ‘Influence of cooling
rate on microstructure and properties of high strength steel weld
metals’, Sci. Technol. Weld. Joining, 2010, 15, 233–238.
19. S. Terashima and H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia: ‘Changes in toughness at
low oxygen concentrations in steel weld metals’, Sci. Technol. Weld.
Joining, 2006, 11, 509–526.
20. S. Terashima and H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia: ‘Size distribution of
oxides and toughness of steel weld metals’, Sci. Technol. Weld.
Joining, 2006, 11, 580–582.
21. J. Zachrisson, J. Börjesson and L. Karlsson: ‘Role of inclusions in
formation of high strength steel weld metal microstructure’, Sci.
Technol. Weld. Joining, 2013, 18, 603–609.
22. L. Karlsson and H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia: ‘Some European
developments in welding consumables’, J. Jpn. Weld. Soc., 2011,
80, 110–119.
23. M. Lord: ‘Interpass temperature and the welding of strong steels’,
Weld. World, 1998, 41, 452–459.
24. G. Çam, O. Özdemir and M. Koçak: ‘Progress in low transforma-
tion temperature (LTT) filler wires: review’, Proc. 63rd Annual
Assembly and Int. Conf. of the International Institute of Welding,
Istanbul, Turkey, July 2010, International Institute of Welding,
759–765.
25. M. A. Kromm and T. Kannengiesser: ‘Characterizing phase
transformations of different LTT alloys and their effect on residual
stresses and cold cracking’, Weld. World, 2011, 55, (3–4), 48–56.
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining
Svensson et al. Welding enabling light weight design of heavy vehicle chassis
26. J. Altenkirch, J. Gibmeier, A. Kromm, T. Kannengiesser, T.
Nitschke-Pagel and M. Hofmann: ‘In situ study of structural
integrity of low transformation temperature (LTT)-welds’, Mater.
Sci. Eng. A, 2011, A528, no. 16–17, 5566–5575.
27. A. A. Bhatti, Z. Barsoum, V. van der Mee, A. Kromm and T.
Kannengiesser: ‘Fatigue strength improvement of welded struc-
tures using new low transformation temperature filler materials’,
Proc. Eng., 2013, 66, 192–201.
28. S. W. Ooi, J. E. Garnham and T. I. Ramjaun: ‘Low transformation
temperature weld filler for tensile residual stress reduction’, Mater.
Des., 2014, 56, 773–781.
29. H. C. Yildirim and G. B. Marquis: ‘A round robin study of high-
frequency mechanical impact (HFMI)-treated welded joints subjected
to variable amplitude loading’, Weld. World, 2013, 57, 3, 437–447.
30. A. Kostrivas and J. C. Lippold: ‘Weldability of Li-bearing alloys’,
Int. Metall. Rev., 1999, 44, 6, 217–236.
31. P. L. Threadgill, A. J. Leonard, H. R. Shercliff and P. J. Withers:
‘Friction stir welding of aluminium alloys’, Int. Mater. Rev., 2009,
54, 2, 49–93.
32. J. C. Ion: ‘Laser beam welding of wrought aluminium alloys’, Sci.
Technol. Weld. Joining, 2000, 5, 265–276.
33. D. Rasmussen and L. Dubourg: ‘Hybrid laser-GMAW welding of
aluminium alloys: a review’, Proc. 7th Int. Conf. on ‘Trends in
welding research’, Pine Mountain, GA, USA, May 2005, ASM
International.
2015 VOL 20 NO 6 482