j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmrt

Resistance spot weldability of Fe66Cr16.5Ni14.1Si3.4

advanced high strength steel using D-optimal
design of experiment method

Mohammad Hossein Amini-Chelak, Reza Miresmaeili*,

Mohsen Askari-Paykani, Hossein Aliyari, Hamid Reza Shahverdi
Department of Materials Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box: 14115-143, Tehran, Iran

article info abstract

Article history: Using advanced high-strength steels in automobiles has created a new challenge to ach-
Received 6 May 2023 ieve acceptable welds. The present study evaluates the weldability of the new generation of
Accepted 28 June 2023 advanced high-strength steels in the FeCrNiSi alloy group. Hence, utilizing the design of
Available online 1 July 2023 experiment (DOE), it was obtained how the parameters namely the welding current,
welding time, and electrode force affect the final properties. Additionally, the acceptable
Keywords: range of parameters for achieving an acceptable weld nugget in terms of size and strength
Resistance spot welding was obtained. Accordingly, the nugget size effects on mechanical properties, namely en-
Design of experiment ergy absorption capability, failure mode in tensile-shear test, and microhardness were
Microstructure evaluated. The parameters were statistically significant and showed a high degree of
Tensile-shear strength reliability (95%) in terms of nugget size. The range of acceptable parameters for 1 mm thick
Failure mode steel and type A electrode was 9e21 cycles for welding time, whereas for welding current
were 4e7 KA, 5 to 6.5 KA, and 5.7 to 6.5 KA at 2, 3, and 4 KN electrode force, respectively.
Due to the grain growth in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), the HAZ softening was observed in
the microhardness profile. All samples demonstrated desired fracture mode due to the HAZ
softening, the ductile austenitic microstructure, the absence of brittle phases, and easy
nugget rotation in the tensile-shear test. By increasing the nugget diameter from 3 to
5.1 mm, the peak load and the energy absorption of the spot welds exceeded from 5.4 KN to
6.5 KN and from 10 to 31 J, respectively.
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC
BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

mechanical properties than conventional steels, and allowed

1. Introduction
Increasing global attention and demand for energy conser-
vation, environmental protection, and crashworthiness have
led automobile manufacturers to develop lightweight auto-
mobiles [1,2]. These goals were well satisfied by the intro-
duction of advanced high-strength steels, which have better
automobile designers to improve occupant safety while
reducing the weight of the vehicle. The most distinguished
and the most widespread used joining method in the auto-
motive industry is Resistance Spot welding (RSW), due to its
capabilities to automate and high operating speed. Crash-
worthiness of vehicles, which means the ability of the auto-
mobile's structure to provide safety and protect passengers

* Corresponding author. Tel: þ98-21-8288-4357

E-mail address: miresmaeili@modares.ac.ir (R. Miresmaeili).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2023.06.262
2238-7854/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
5616 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2
from damage through an accident, is strongly influenced by
the integrity and mechanical performance of the spot welds
[3e6]. In general, three common failure modes are observed in
the tensile-shear (TS) test of spot welds: i) Interfacial failure
(IF): This failure mode, usually begins with the presented
notch in the unbonded interface of the sheets and by passing
through the entire fusion zone (FZ), separates the two sheets
completely. The result of this type of failure is often the
reduction of elongation and energy absorption of the weld-
ment. ii) Partially interfacial failure (PIF): The failure begins
along the FZ and then propagates toward the base material
(BM) through the sheet thickness and finally reaches the sur-
face of the sheet. iii) Pullout Failure (PF): In this mode, a crack
can be initiated from any of the BM, heat-affected zone (HAZ),
or the interface of the heat affected zone and the FZ and will
not enter the FZ until the end of the crack propagation.
Pouranvari and Marashi [4] developed high-strength steels
and characterized metallurgical features, interfacial to pullout
failure mode transition, and mechanical performance of steel
resistance spot welds under quasi-static with the aim of uti-
lizing them in automotive industry applications. They
confirmed that due to more plastic deformation along with
more energy absorption, the PF mode of failure is preferable.
Similar conclusions were obtained by Sun et al. [3,7] for DP800
and TRIP800 spot welds. On the other hand, Khan et al. [8]
performed on fracture paths within the joint microstructure
of spot welded AHSS, including DP, TRIP, and FB, in compar-
ison to new high-strength low alloy steels, they have
explained in IF mode, crashworthiness, and occupant safety
decrease and for this reason, specific welding parameters
should be considered in which failure with the IF mode is
alleviated. As a result, Subrammanian et al. [9] found that in
order to ensure high crashworthiness of spot-welded joints, it
is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of the
relation between input and output variables.
Subrammanian et al. [9] explained that in general, three
parameters dictate the spot welds quality, namely the size of
the FZ, the mechanical performance parameters (peak load
and failure energy) of the joint, and the failure mode of the
weldment. Among these parameters, the size of the FZ is the
most critical parameter for the quality of the spot weld's. Zhou
et al. [10], conducted experimental and numerical studies on
determining critical sizes for tensile-shear testing of resis-
tance spot welded specimens. Also, Pouranvari [11], investi-
gated the effect of welding current, as the main resistance
spot welding process parameter, on the weld nugget attributes
and mechanical performance of resistance spot welds of
1.25e2.5 mm thick low carbon steel sheets. In both cases, it
was concluded that the capacity of load-bearing and failure
energy, which are measured during the TS test, are two
quantitative parameters that can describe the mechanical
performance of the weld. Marashi et al. [12] investigated
resistance spot welding of austenitic stainless steel sheets,
and their mechanical properties in spot area were evaluated
using tensile shear test. They observed that the failure mode is
a qualitative standard that shows weld reliability. According
to Pouranvari and Marashi [13], mechanical performance and
failure mode depend on the metallurgical features, including
the microstructure and the hardness characteristics of the
weld metal, which are controlled by the FZ transformations.
Therefore, the study of transformations in the FZ and HAZ is
crucial to understand the failure features and mechanical
properties of weld joints.
Studies by Kianersi et al. [14] on AISI 316L austenitic
stainless steel caused discovering the optimum welding cur-
rent and time parameters for resistance spot welding. They
then examined the effect of optimal welding parameters on
the properties of the resistance spot welds and the BM
microstructure. Their results indicate that the transition from
IF into PF mode, which is limited to the expulsion, determines
the optimum conditions for welding. Also, they reported
various types of ferrite in weld nuggets. Microstructure and
mechanical properties of medium manganese steel (5%)
resistance spot welds with different welding currents and
times investigated by Jia et al. [15]. Increasing welding current
and time (without expulsion), resulted in an ascending trend
in the nugget diameter (size of the FZ) and peak load (PL)
through TS test. It was observed that by increasing the nugget
diameter and reaching a critical size, the failure mode is
shifted from IF to PF mode. Wan et al. [16] studied the influ-
ence of the welding current (6e12 KA) and welding time on the
DPW 600 steel resistant spot welds. Microstructure and me-
chanical performance of the spot welds were evaluated
through the TS test. Numerical analysis was performed on
nugget formation and temperature distribution. They found
that the welding current had a small effect on the micro-scale
properties of the DP600 spot welds; while they reported that
the shape and size of the weld nugget depended on the
welding current. Thakur and Nandedkar [17] examined the
effect of six RSW parameters including pre-heating current,
welding current, squeeze time, welding time, holding time,
and electrode force on the galvanized steel sheets' weld
nugget and the tensile-shear strength. They use the Taguchi
quality design concept of the L18 orthogonal array to specify
the ratio of noise to the signal (N/S). On the other hand,
ANOVA and F test values were used to show Significant Pa-
rameters which are effective on resistance spot weld's per-
formance. Their results showed that if the parameters are
selected based on the predicted optimal levels by the Taguchi
method, the quality of the welded joint increases. Pouranvari
et al. [18,19] found that the ratio of FZ hardness to PF Location
(BM or HAZ), plays a key role to determine the failure mode in
spot welds during the TS test. Therefore, the smallest amount
of FZ that is required to prevent IF fracture is affected by the
microstructure of the weld as well as the thickness of the
sheets. Saha et al. [20] studied the RSW of twining-induced
plasticity (TWIP) high manganese (18%) steel with 1.4 mm
thickness and reported that, because of the chemical
composition (high alloying elements) of the high manganese
steel and therefore, higher material's bulk resistance, expul-
sion occurred earlier. By increasing the welding current,
nugget pressure, and residual tensile stress in the HAZ during
the cooling stage were increased. In another study, Saha et al.
[21] investigated the liquation cracking in the HAZ and
Segregation in the FZ during RSW of TWIP steel. They claimed
that an increase in heat input resulted in an increase in the
crack length and crack opening width. It was also observed
that the alloying elements C, Mn, and Ti exhibited strong
segregation. Razmpoosh et al. [22] assessed the mechanical
and microstructural properties of the TWIP steel during RSW.
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2 5617

Table 1 e Chemical composition and mechanical properties of investigated steel [23].

Chemical composition (%wt.) Mechanical properties
Fe Cr Ni Si YS (MPa) UTS (MPa) Elongation (Pct) Formability Index
UTS  El. (GPa Pct)
67 16.5 14.1 3.4 219 ± 2 568 ± 10 83.0 ± 5 47.1

They concluded that in the HAZ, significant grain growth was Experiment) method. The levels of these parameters were
observed in a narrow band. Also, with an increase in welding selected in accordance with the AWS D8.9 standard recom-
current and time, a considerable decrease was observed in PL mendations and previous studies [24,25,28,29] on AHSS steels
during TS test. after the pre-tests. Pre-tests were performed from 4 KA cur-
The novel austenitic steel investigated in this study has a rent to the point where the expulsion occurred, that for the
Formability Index of 47.1 GPa (a combination of 568 MPa ulti- currents underneath 6 KA, no weld nugget was detected.
mate tensile strength and 83% ductility) which is excellent Finally, the minimum welding current equal to 6 KA was
and is a suitable candidate for automotive, and industrial selected as the starting current for nugget formation. While
applications [23]. Study of the welding metallurgy and weld- the maximum level of the welding current is 9 KA, in which
ability of this steel is a major precondition for wide range the expulsion occurs. The welding time and electrode force
application of this steel in different parts of an automobile. were also selected in the range of 9e21 cycles and 2e4 KN,
First, the proper range of RSW parameters, including current, respectively. Therefore, the welding current parameter was
time, and electrode force was determined. Then, a D-Optimal selected at four levels of 6, 7, 8, and 9 KA, welding time
design of experiment (DOE) test was designed to optimize the parameter at three levels of 9, 15.5, and 21 cycles with a fre-
response of the welds to the nugget size and to identify the quency of 50 HZ (1 cycle is equal to 20 mS), and the electrode
importance of each parameter by analyzing ANOVA. Finally, force parameter at three levels of 2, 3, 4 KN. The study utilized
by performing a tensile-shear test of a number of welds in the a pointed type A electrode from the Resistance Welding
optimum range, the effect of the nugget size on the properties Manufacturing Alliance (RWMA) as shown in (Fig. 1). Accord-
and mechanical performance of the spot welds was ingly, 24 combinations of welding current, time, and
investigated. compression forces were designed at different levels, as
shown in Table 2.
The mechanical performance of the weld was evaluated
2. Experimental procedure using a quasi-static shear test. The samples of the lap-joint
test are two sheets with dimensions of 50  15  1 mm3
In this study, the weldability of hot-rolled heat treated FeCr- (Fig. 2) which were welded with 20 mm overlap [30]. The
NiSi steel sheets was investigated using RSW process. This tensile-shear assay was performed at a crosshead of 10 mm/
alloy was produced in laboratory scale with an induction min (according to AWS D8.9 standard). The failure modes
melting process in an alumina crucible under a vacuum of were determined by the fracture surface and the fracture path
104 mbar. Then, through the casting process in a water- observation. The welds's mechanical performance is
cooled Cu mold with a water circulation system (approxi- described in terms of maximum load bearing (Pmax) and
mately cooling rate of 1000  C/s), an ingot with a size of 50  50
 5 mm3 was produced. Castings were subjected to hot rolling
for several passes to reduce thickness from 5 mm to 1 mm. In
the end, they experienced proper heat treatment to achieve
the desired properties [23].
In the first step of the heat treatment, the rolled samples
were heated isothermally to 1100  C and kept at this temper-
ature for 2 h. In the second step, the samples were subjected to
a temperature of 700  C for 20 min. These samples were heat
treated in a medium size muffle furnace, and their tempera-
ture was controlled with ±5  C accuracy. In both steps, the
heating rate was 10  C/min, and the samples were air-cooled.
Table 1 shows the chemical composition and tensile proper-
ties of the mentioned alloy.
In this investigation, welding current, welding time, and
clamping force, three of the most important parameters
influencing the RSW process [24e27], were selected as the
main RSW variables. Their effect on the microstructure/me-
chanical attributes of the welds was investigated.
To study the effect of welding current “I (KA)”, welding time
“t (cycle)” and electrode force “F (KN)” parameters the design
of the test was performed by using the D-Optimal (Design of Fig. 1 e RWMA type A electrode redrawn diagram from [36].
5618 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2

Table 2 e D-Optimal design of experiment array showing 3. Results

the welding parameters engaged during the RSW tests.
std Run Current Time Force Nugget 3.1. Design of experiment
(KA) (cycle) (KN) Dia. (mm)
11 1 9 15.5 2 4.5 The measured values of the weld nugget dimensions of the
7 2 8 21 3 3.4 samples for the 24 welding conditions are shown in Table 2.
19 3 8 9 4 4.9 The analysis results show that all welding current, electrode
20 4 9 9 4 2.4
force, and welding time variables are statistically significant,
14 5 9 21 2 6.1
and with a confidence level of 95% are influencing the weld
2 6 7 15.5 3 4.6
4 7 9 15.5 3 3.1 nugget size. The “Pred R-Squared” with a value of 0.7820 has a
21 8 6 15.5 3 2.9 reasonable acceptance with “Adj R-Squared” with a value of
8 9 6 9 4 0.0 0.8804. The difference between these two values represents
24 10 7 21 4 4.3 the distance between the prediction of the experiment design
9 11 6 21 3 3.4 and the actual values and should not exceed 0.2, which is valid
18 12 7 9 4 3.9
in this study. “Adeq Precision” measures the signal strength to
15 13 7 9 2 4.1
13 14 8 21 2 5.1
the noise ratio for experiment design. The more the value of
5 15 8 15.5 4 4.4 this number, the better the variables are selected, and there-
16 16 8 9 3 4.2 fore, the results are highly precise. In other words, the ratios
3 17 9 21 4 3.5 greater than 4 are desirable for this criterion. In this study, the
17 18 9 9 3 3.6 ratio is 18.199, which represents the signal for this model is
10 19 8 15.5 2 4.4
suitable. Shafee et al. [31], showed that the ratio of signal to
1 20 6 9 2 2.7
noise could be evaluated to optimize the similar welding pa-
22 21 7 21 3 4.4
23 22 6 15.5 4 0.0 rameters in low-carbon steels.
12 23 7 21 2 4.5
6 24 6 21 2 4.0 3.1.1. The effect of the parameters on the weld nugget
diameter
Table 3, shows the analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the values
failure energy (Wmax). The data for maximum load and failure
for the weld nugget size of the samples and the parameters
energy are the average of the results of the three different
affecting that. The ANOVA table (Table 3), analyzes the results
tests.
of practical experiments by a mathematical model. This
To study the structure of different parts of FZ, HAZ, and BM
mathematical model, by examining the relationship between
on both large and small scales. Standard metallography
input data (current, time, and force) and the output results
method was used for sample preparation optical microscopy
(weld nugget size), identifies the parameters that are impor-
(OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used, and
tant and effective on the response of the experiments. The
electropolishing and electroetching techniques were applied
mathematical model of the samples shows an F-ratio of 23.08,
to reveal the microstructure. Constituents of the solution are
which is due to the significance of the model. F-ratio is defined
as follows: 20% alcohol, 20% HCl, 53% acetic acid, and 7%
as the signal-to-noise ratio for the model and its effective
perchloric acid and the process was performed with a voltage
parameters. P-value indicates in the strictest conditions, only
of 30 v and a time of 5e10 s for electropolishing and with a
0.01% is the chance that the F-ratio of the obtained model is
voltage of 2.7 v and a time of 20e30 s for electroetching.
due to the noise. The values less than 0.05 for the P-value
Vickers microhardness test was applied under an indenter
indicate that the predicted parameters for the mathematical
load of 100 g for 15 s to acquire hardness values in various
model are significant and values greater than 0.1 represent an
regions of the weld. The hardness of the samples was
insignificance case [32]. Hence, according to the results of the
measured with an angle of 45 relative to the weld axis in
experimental tests carried out under the experiment design,
transverse cross-section of the weld nugget and at a distance
the analysis of the relationships among the parameters and
of 150 mm between the two points of the indentation.

Fig. 2 e Dimension of Joint configuration of tensile-shear samples.

 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2
Table 3 e Analysis of variance table for the experiment design.
Parameter SS DOF MS
Model 14.51 7 2.07
I2 7.60 1 7.60
I2F 4.42 1 4.42
IF2 3.39 1 3.39
tF2 1.66 1 1.66
T 1.58 1 1.58
I2t 1.06 1 1.06
t2 0.51 1 0.51
Residual 1.26 14 0.090
Cor total 15.76 21
the desired response, the ANOVA table (Table 3) detected I2,
I2F, IF2, tF2, t, I2t, t2 as significant parameters. The second
power of the welding current with an F-value of 84/67 is the
most critical parameter affecting the weld nugget size, and the
probability of random result, in this case, is less than 0.0001.
The order of the effect of other variables and the interaction
among them on weld nugget size is reported in Table 3.
3.1.2. Determine the proper range of process parameters
levels
Figs. 3a, 1b and 1c show the three-dimensional response
surfaces of the experiment design of the welds at 2, 3, and
4 KN, respectively. In all of the aforementioned figures, the
size of weld nugget is represented based on the welding cur-
rent and welding time. Generally, the analysis of these curves
shows that both current and time parameters have a direct
effect on the variations of the weld nugget size, and increasing
each parameter, increases the nugget diameter. Sub-
rammanian et al. reported that increasing the welding time
causes higher heat input which leads to a higher melting at
the interface of the sheets, hence creating nuggets with larger
diameters and depths, but the effect of welding current is
more notable than the time of the welding process [9].
Although it has been reported that increasing the welding
time and current up to the point where expulsion is not
observed, increases the size of the weld nugget.
According to previous report by Khan et al. [33] and Rao
et al. [34], increasing the electrode force causes the contact
resistance of the sheets to be strongly affected and reduces
the size of the weld nugget. It can be clearly seen that the
variation of the clamping force in the range of average welding
current in the course of resistance spot welding of the steel
samples (at all times) does not have a remarkable effect on the
fusion zone size. However, in high and low currents,
increasing the applied force causes a sharp decrease in the
size of the fusion zone. For example, in sample 8 with an
applied 3 KN force, 15.5 cycles welding time and a current of
6 KA, the diameter of the nugget is equal to 2.94 mm. By
increasing the force to 4 KN in sample 24 under the same
conditions, it significantly lowers the size of the weld nugget.
In this case, the heat input is decreased as a result of reduced
contact resistance to the extent that no bonding has been
made (weld nugget size is zero).
Table 4, shows the welding window or acceptable range of
the welding parameters for samples, which is obtained by Imin
and Imax where Imin is the minimum required welding current
5619
F-Ratio P-Value Contribution
23.08 0.0001> Significant
84.67 0.0001> Significant
49.22 0.0001> Significant
37.76 0.0001> Significant
18.44 0.0007 Significant
17.56 0.0009 Significant
11.85 0.0040 Significant
5.67 0.0320 Significant
pffiffi
to achieve the nugget size of 4 t (in this research 4 mm) and
Imax is the maximum current before the expulsion. This range
was determined in the present study by the design of the
experiment. Acceptable minimum welding current corre-
sponds to the point of the DOE diagram where the nugget size
is 4 mm, and the maximum welding current is shown by the
saddle point in the DOE diagram (Fig. 3). In this way, the range
of acceptable welding currents was determined for each
constant force. According to Tables 4 and it is observed that
with an increase in the electrode force, the acceptable range of
the welding current decreases.
3.1.3. Nugget size prediction
The welding parameters influence the properties and perfor-
mance of the weld spots, which is often due to the change in
the size of the weld nugget resulted of the resistance spot
welding process. However, the welding procedure parameters
increase the mechanical properties by increasing the size of
the weld nugget, as far as no expulsion occurs [35]. Accord-
ingly, the DOE with two criteria: 1) minimum nugget diameter
pffiffi
of 4 mm (nugget diameter > 4 t) and 2) the maximum size of
the nugget without expulsion, determines the acceptable
range of current, time, and electrode force. The experiment
design by analyzing the data from the experimental results,
predicts the process of changing the size of the weld nugget
and identifies the minimum level of the parameters for
reaching the nugget diameter of 4 mm and the maximum level
of parameters for reaching the maximum nugget diameter
(that is the maximum point in the design diagrams).
According to Table 2, five different welding conditions with
different nugget sizes were selected to compare mechanical
properties and performance. Four samples with welding
conditions in acceptable range with predicted nugget diam-
pffiffi
eter of at least 4 mm (with ND> 4 t according to AWS D8.9/
ANSI/SAE standards [36]) and without the appearance of
expulsion and 1 sample with welding conditions in the range
of inappropriate welds with a predicted diameter of less than
4 mm. Specifications of the welding process and the nugget
size for the selected samples are shown in Table 5. The name
of each sample is based on the same designation in the
experiment design of each sample as well as an index repre-
senting the sample nugget diameter, which is summarized in
Table 2.
In different research studies [9,37,38], it is reported that by
adding in the value of the welding current and time and
reducing the applied force, the size of the weld nugget
5620 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2

Fig. 3 e Three-dimensional response levels of weld nugget size in constant force of a) 2, b) 3, and c) 4 KN.

increases. According to this fact, increasing welding current,
increasing welding time, and reducing the electrode force in-
crease the heat input throughout RSW, the molten metal is
increased at the interface and causes larger nuggets. As a
consequence, these changes in parameters lead to larger weld
nuggets, both in diameter and depth of penetration was re-
ported by Subrammanian et al. (2018), and since the nugget
size is the most crucial parameter determining the quality and
mechanical characteristic (failure mode) of the spot welds
[3,39,40] the effect of parameters on the nugget size was first
examined, and then the nugget size was considered as the
criterion for evaluating mechanical properties.
3.2. Microstructure
Fig. 4 shows the OM and SEM microstructural images for all
samples selected in the previous section. It can be seen, by

Table 5 e Specifications of selected samples for tensile-

shear test.
Table 4 e Acceptable range of welding parameters for the Designation I (KA) T (Cycle) F (KN) ND (mm)
investigated steel.
Run 83mm 6 15.5 3 3
Force (KN) Imin (KA) IMax (KA) Time (Cycle)
Run 124mm 7 9 4 4
2 6 8.5 9-21 Run 164.2mm 8 9 3 4.2
3 6.25 8 9-21 Run 194.5mm 8 15.5 2 4.5
4 7 7.85 9-21 Run 145.1mm 8 21 2 5.1
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2
evaluating the microstructure of the spot weld from the center
of the nugget gradually toward the base material, firstly there
are mainly columnar dendrites with a secondary arm and
sometimes cellular dendrites in the preferred directions of
heat transfer (contact direction of water-cooling electrodes
and sheets) from the edge of the weld nugget toward the
center of the weld. However, near the edge of the weld nugget,
there is a transition region where the structure of the
stretched dendrites, was drawn into the fine cellular dendrite
in comparison with the base metal grains. A narrow bar is
evident around the weld nugget, known as the transition
zone. The size of the grains in the transition zone of the melt
pool is slightly larger than the size of the dendrites in the
central part of the melt pool (Fig. 4.1), and the cellular solidi-
fication mode is dominant compared to the columnar den-
dritic. The main reason for larger grains in the transition zone
is the fact that the heat is continuously transferring from the
fusion zone toward the BM, resulting in a higher BM temper-
ature and a reduction in the cooling rate in the fusion line.
Significant accumulation of heat leads to the coarsening of the
grains. The HAZ is a region that the base material grains began
to become coarse under the influence of the welding thermal
cycle. It is worth mentioning that, at the fusion line, the base
material grains act as nuclei, leading to epitaxial growth. Also,
because of the segregation of the alloying elements at some
grain boundaries and the lower melting point, melting and
solidification of the grain boundaries take place, which in-
dicates the partial melting of these grains [41].
The SEM images of the FZ (Figs. 2, 3 and 4), show a den-
dritic matrix and interdendritic regions with austenite single-
phase microstructure, without any precipitate or second-
phase delta ferrite. The elemental analysis of the weld re-
gion resulting from energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy
(EDX) illustrates, the chemical composition of the dendritic
matrix and interdendritic region. The atomic percent of the
elements in dendritic and interdendritic regions are (Si ¼ 6.2,
Cr ¼ 17.4, Fe ¼ 65.2, Ni ¼ 11.1) and (Si ¼ 8.9, Cr ¼ 16.9,
Fe ¼ 61.3, Ni ¼ 12.7) respectively. In this study, OM and SEM
images showed a complete austenite microstructure in the
FZ. Fukumotomet al. [42] reported that using backscattered
electron scanning electron microscope (SEM-BSE) with the
help of the Kikuchi pattern in the SEM is helpful to detect
ferrite and austenite in the FZ of the stainless steels. They
also reported that SEM-BSE examination is useful in detecting
the presence of low amounts of delta ferrite within small
regions such as the weld nugget. An example of liquation
cracks often formed adjacent to the fusion line in the PMZ
can be seen in Fig. 5.
Sections a and b in Table 6, show the dimensions of the
grains in different weld regions and the liquation cracks,
respectively, for each of the samples. Due to the variation of
grain types in the FZ, two ways were reported for the grain
size: (1) the cellular dendrites with minimum and maximum
size in each of the weld structures; and (2) the columnar
dendritic grains with mean length (L) and mean width (W)
of the columnar dendrites. Table 6c, shows the density of
the liquation cracking in which, N, Lmean, and Lmax repre-
sent, the number, average size, and maximum size of the
crack length respectively in the cross-section of each
sample.
5621
3.3. Microhardness
The profile of hardness for the five selected samples is shown
in Fig. 6. The hardness profile of the samples is similar in all of
the cases so that the hardness from BM to the HAZ, and then
to the FZ was first reduced and then increased. In general, the
fluctuation range of the hardness was not significant. The
average hardness of the BM in rolled and heat-treated condi-
tions was measured at about 209 ± 5 H V. In all samples, the FZ
exhibited higher hardness than the HAZ, measured for
different samples between 191 H V and 209 H V. The hardness
in the HAZ around the weld nugget has the lowest hardness
compared with BM and FZ. This is well observed in the hard-
ness profile of samples Run83mm, Run164.2mm, Run194.5mm,
and partly in the sample Run145.1m. However, in sample
Run124mm, there is no sharp difference between the BM, HAZ,
and FZ hardness. Table 7, shows the mean hardness values
measured in different weld regions (FZHV، HAZHV) and the
HAZ length to the FZ length ratio (XHAZ/XFZ) for Run83mm,
Run124mm, Run164.2mm, Run194.5m, and Run145.1mm samples.
Table 7 shows the hardness profile as a measurement of
the mechanical properties that change along the joint region.
Referring to Table 7, different process parameters, especially
the welding current, had no significant influence on the
hardness value of the joint region (FZ and HAZ). The volume
fraction, size, and morphology of the phases are three factors
that influence the hardness of the joint region. Alizadeh et al.
[43] and Carrouge [44] found that due to the single-phase
austenitic microstructure of the FZ (referring to the micro-
structure analysis), the slight difference in the cooling rate
with changing the welding current did not affect the volume
fraction of the phases. On the other hand, based on Fig. 4 and
Table 6, the microstructural morphology and the grain size are
the same in all samples. Therefore, the hardness results are
justifiable.
Marashi et al. [12] showed that the HAZ hardness charac-
teristics of austenitic steels were affected by recrystallization
and grain growth, and were affected by carbide precipitation
in the case of austenitic stainless steels. It was reported that
the HAZ softening phenomena occurred in both austenitic
stainless steel and austenitic high manganese TWIP steel,
which was due to the grain growth in the HAZ [12,21]. In
research studied by Pouranvari and Marashi [4] on DP780,
DP980, DP800, and TWIP steels, the hardness in the FZ and
hardness in the HAZ were reported to be higher and lower
than the BM, respectively.
3.4. Tensile-shear test
To determine weld strength, the TS test, which is the most
common method for evaluating spot welds, was used. The
loadedisplacement curve illustrates the data recorded during
the TS test. Peak load (the load corresponds to the highest
point of loadedisplacement curve) and energy absorption
(equals the area beneath the loadedisplacement curve up to
the highest load) are the most essential variables considered
in the TS test.
Table 8 demonstrates the results of the tensile-shear test
and the weld schedule for the five selected samples. Sample
Run145.1mm, with 8 KA welding current, 21 cycles welding
5622 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2

Fig. 4 e 1) OM, and 2,3) SEM images for samples a) Run83mm b) Run124mm c) Run164.2mm d) Run194.5mm e) Run145.1mm.
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2 5623

nugget consisted of single-phase austenite (absence of brittle

phases), such a failure behavior was expected. According to
low-magnification stereomicroscope images, the failure has
occurred around the weld nugget [47]. By observing the SEM
images at various magnifications, there is no trace of dendritic
failure, which itself can be a reason for the PF and non-
diversion of the failure path into the weld nugget. Therefore,
this steel is not very sensitive to IF. The effect of the base
material composition and characteristics of different weld
regions on the failure mode in the tensile-shear test of this
steel would be discussed further in the following section.

4. Discussion

4.1. Microstructure

Fig. 4 illustrates the microscopic images of different weld re-

Fig. 5 e Optical microscopy image of the liquation cracks
within heat affected zone of Run194.5mm.
time, and 3 KN electrode force, and sample Run124mm, with
7 KA welding current, 9 cycles welding time, and 4 KN elec-
trode force, have the highest and lowest peak load and energy
absorption (EA), respectively. The column charts represented
in Fig. 7, show the influence of the nugget size on peak load
(Fig. 7a) and energy absorption (Fig. 7b). Generally, these two
charts show that by increasing the nugget size, the values of
PL, and EA increase. Li et al. [45], Pouranvari [25], and Spena
et al. [46] observed that with increasing the nugget size, the
amount of PL and EA would increase.
Fig. 8 displays the images of the fractured samples after the
tensile-shear test. Fractography studies reveal that all of the
welds have failed in PF mode after significant deformation.
Failure in all samples was initiated at a point adjacent to the
weld nugget and was terminated by propagation around the
nugget, so that at the end of the failure, the weld nugget
entirely separated from one of the sheets and remained on the
other sheet. Fractured surface analysis shows a combination
of cleavage characteristics (a small fraction of the fractured
surface) and drawn dimples with different sizes. In all cases,
the ductile fracture mechanism is the dominant mechanism,
and it is verifiable by the drawn dimples in the direction of
applying shear force. According to the fact that the weld
gions. HAZ microstructure is the same as the BM, and no
particular phase transformations were observed, except that
the grains in the HAZ are coarser than the BM. Microstructure
analysis of the FZ with dendritic microstructure revealed that
FZ consisted of a single-phase austenite with no second phase
or precipitates, as shown in Fig. 4.
Phase transformations during solidification of the austen-
itic stainless steels strongly depend on the chemical compo-
sition of the alloy and the cooling rate [48]. Hammer and
Svensson [49] predicted four different solidification paths is
possible in austenitic stainless steels (Eq. (2)), that based on
the Creq/Nieq ratio (Eq. (1)), which Creq and Nieq represent the
Cr and Ni equivalents respectively:
Creq ¼ Cr þ 1:37Mo þ 1:5Si þ 2Nb þ 3Ti ðiÞ
(1)
Nieq ¼ Ni þ 22C þ 14:2N þ 0:31Mn þ Cu ðiiÞ

A mode : L/L þ g/g Creq Nieq <1:37

AF mode : L/L þ g/L þ g þ d/g þ d/g 1:37< Creq Nieq <1:50
FA mode : L/L þ d/L þ d þ g/d þ g/g 1:50< Creq Nieq <2:00
F mode : L/L þ d/d/d þ g 2:00>Creq Nieq
(2)
This ratio is 1.53 for the recent study, which means that the
molten metal passes the FA mode during the solidification
with a low cooling rate. If the cooling rate is higher than a
critical level, the FA solidification mode can be shifted to AF
mode. Fu et al. [48] derived Eq. (3) that shows the possibility of
formation of a semi-stable austenite from the melt, that will

Table 6 e Dimensions of the a) dendrite in FZ, b) grains in HAZ and c) the liquation cracks in samples.
Designation a b c
FZ HAZ Crack (mm)
GS (mm)
Cell DS (mm) Columnar DS (mm)
Min Max W L Mean N LMean LMax
Run83mm 1.5 27 3.26 133 54.5 9 161 294
Run124mm 2.0 31 3.22 142 52.0 1 32 43
Run164.2mm 1.7 30 3.62 155 62.9 14 97 240
Run194.5mm 1.6 49 3.15 159 53.5 2 44 50
Run145.1mm 2.0 38 3.55 177 59.2 14 64 94
5624 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2

Fig. 6 e Hardness profiles of the cross-section of the samples a) Run83mm b) Run124mm c) Run164.2mm d) Run194.5mm,
e) Run145.1mm, and f) schematic of hardness path.

occur when the undercooling of the molten metal is greater
than the difference between the molten temperature in
equilibrium with the Delta ferrite phase (T1, d) and the tem-
perature of the semi-stable austenite phase (T0, g). In this
case, the required time for segregation in front of the dendritic
branches (in the interdendritic region) will be low, thus
reducing the percentage of the delta ferrite phase [50]. In
conclusion, increasing the cooling rate 1) by changing the
solidification path and 2) changing the solubility of the alloy-
ing elements, affects the formation of the delta ferrite phase.
DT > DT0;g ¼ Tl;d  T0;g
4.1.1. BM microstructure
The steel phase diagram of this study is shown in Fig. 9a.
During the solidification of the base material in this study
(which was produced in the copper mold with a water cooling
system with a cooling rate of 1000  C/s) due to its high
undercooling related to the solidification conditions, the so-
lidification mode transferred from the FA to AF mode. Fig. 9c
shows the CCT chart of this steel at a cooling rate higher than
1000  C/s, which results in a complete austenite structure. The
casting structure of this alloy has austenite microstructure
with a low percentage of delta ferrite phase (about 3.5%). The
base material, after hot rolling at 950  C, was subjected to
thermal treatment at 1100  C/2 h and 700  C/20 min. By
transforming the delta ferrite into austenite during thermal
treatment, the final microstructure became fully austenite
single-phase [23].
(3)
4.1.2. HAZ microstructure
The microstructure of the HAZ is austenite as well. This region
has quasi-stable austenite before the welding process, and
during the welding procedure, it is still in the austenitic range.
Because of very high cooling rate during RSW process, this

Table 8 e Failure modes and mechanical properties

Table 7 e The average hardness values of different weld obtained from the results of the tensile-shear test of the
regions, the hardness ratio of the HAZ to the FZ of the spot-welded samples.
samples, and the HAZ length to the FZ length ratio.
Designation Extension Peak Load Energy Failure
Designation BMHV HAZHV FZHV HAZHV/FZHV XHAZ/XFZ (mm) (KN) absorption (J) Mode
Run83mm 205 178 195 0.91 0.44 Run83mm 2.1 5.4 10.0 PF
Run124mm 209 187 204 0.91 0.40 Run124mm 2.3 5.2 10.3 PF
Run164.2mm 213 177 192 0.92 0.58 Run164.2mm 3.2 5.7 15.5 PF
Run194.5mm 214 185 204 0.90 0.42 Run194.5mm 3.9 6.0 21.5 PF
Run145.1mm 212 183 191 0.95 0.38 Run145.1mm 5.6 6.5 31.3 PF
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2
Fig. 7 e The effect of nugget size on a) the peak load and b) the energy absorption.
area does not have enough time to perform the trans-
formation, so the structure of this region remains austenite.
4.1.3. FZ microstructure
Since the thickness of the sheets in this study is t ¼ 1 mm, the
gap between the water-cooling electrodes and the molten pool
is low. Therefore, the cooling rate is very high. For example,
Pouranvari and Marashi [4] reported that when the thickness
of the sheets decreases from 2 mm to 0.8 mm, the cooling rate
will increase from 2000 K/s to 10,000 K/s. To approximate the
cooling rate in the present study, the following equation (Eq.
(4)) was derived by Elmer et al. [50]:
l2 ¼ 25ðεÞ0:28
In this equation, l2 indicates the secondary dendritic arm
spacing (mm) and ε shows the cooling rate ( C/s). According to
this relation, the cooling rate of the weld metal, in this case, is
about 4000e7000  C/S.
5625
Increasing the cooling rate by consuming more alloying el-
ements during solidification such as Cr and Si, which are ferrite
stabilizer elements, results in a low amount of separation
[51e53], and thus decreases the formation of the delta ferrite
phase. Therefore, for the reason that the cooling rate in this
process is extremely high, it is almost impossible to form a
delta ferrite phase under these conditions, and the micro-
structure in the FZ will be completely austenitic. For example,
Nakao et al. [54,55] reported that the high cooling rate in laser-
beam welding lessened (gamma þ delta) in the Schaeffler dia-
gram and it altered the mode of solidification from primary
austenite to full austenite, or from primary ferrite into massive
solidification. Elmer et al. [50] reported that all low-Cr-Ni alloys
(4) solidify with the primary austenitic phase, and their ferrite
values decrease with an increase in cooling rate. In a study on
weldability of AISI 304, P Marashi et al. [12] showed a quite
austenitic structure in the FZ microstructure. Although
Schaeffler diagram envisages two-phase microstructure
5626 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2

Fig. 8 e Fracture surface images after tensile-shear test, 1) stereographic images, and 2, 3) SEM images with low to high
magnification images, respectively: a) Run83mm, b) Run124mm, c) Run164.2mm, d) Run194.5mm, e) Run145.1mm.

(austenite-ferrite) for the FZ, in rapid solidification cases like
laser welding, solidification mode can change [56].
Fig. 9b shows the phase diagram of the FZ, which is pre-
dicted by the J-Mat Pro simulation software. By simulating the
welding conditions using the J-Mat Pro software, the weld
microstructure was also predicted to be single-phase
austenite at the end of the solidification ((Simulated welding
conditions: Grain Size ¼ 40 um Tm ¼ 1500 c, Heating
Rate ¼ 3000  C/s and Cooling Rate ¼ 1000  C/s).
Consequently, due to high cooling rate in the resistance spot
welding and according to studies carried out by microscopic
analysis and simulation, except for a single-phase dendritic
microstructure, no precipitates or secondary phases, including
the Delta ferrite phase, was detected in the microstructure of
FZ in this steel. Although in dendritic and interdendritic
regions, only single-phase austenite was detected, the chemi-
cal composition of these regions is not precisely the same (Fig. 4
a3, b3, c3, d3, e3). By considering the fact that segregation of
alloying elements would take place albeit low, the amount of
silicon in interdendritic regions is higher than that of dendrite
cores According to EDX results in sections 3-2 As mentioned
before, the amount of silicon for the austenite phase in inter-
dendritic region is 8.99% and for the austenite in the dendritic
region is 6.23%. It is worth noting that, because of the low
hardenability of this steel, martensitic transformation is.
4.2. Tensileeshear test and failure modes
The failure mode is a qualitative criterion for mechanical
characteristics of resistance spot welds and can have a
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2 5627

Fig. 9 e a) Phase diagram of FeCrNiSi steel, b) simulation of the solidification path by J-Mat Pro software, c) schematic CCT
diagram of FeCrNiSi steel.
5628 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2
remarkable effect on peak load and absorbing energy. Typi-
cally, 3 failure modes i) Interfacial failure mode (IF), ii) Partially
interfacial failure (PIF), iii) Pullout failure (PF) are visible in the
tensile-shear test of spot welds. The PF mode is the most
desirable failure mode (automobile designers) because, due to
its failure mechanism, weldment experiences more plastic
deformation than other failure modes, and following this, the
energy absorption is higher in this mode.
Fig. 8 shows microscopic images of the fractured surfaces
during the tensile-shear assay. As can be seen, all the test
samples in this study were fractured in PF mode. This shows
the tendency of the spot welds of this steel against the IF mode
and the tendency for PF mode even for nuggets below the
critical size specified by AWS D8.9.
Further examination of these images (Fig. 8) reveals that in
all samples, the dominant failure mechanism is ductile frac-
ture, and drawn dimples in the direction of the applied force
are visible in all samples. By considering the presence of a
single austenite phase in the weld metal and lack of brittle
phases in this region, the results are justifiable. According to
SEM images of the fractured surfaces in various magnifica-
tions (Fig. 8), there is no trace of dendritic fracture. Therefore,
it can be said that the fracture path has not entered the FZ,
and low magnification images prove that the fracture path is
around the weld nugget. Fig. 10 shows the OM image of the
cross-section of the separated weld nugget, which is obvious
to be a failure from the HAZ region. According to the previous
discussion in the microstructure section, the size of the grains
has increased in HAZ, and the hardness has decreased. On the
other hand, grain growth causes the reduction of the strength,
which makes the HAZ the weakest region of the weldment.
Therefore, during the time that the tensile-shear test process
is performing, the applied force is concentrated in the HAZ
around the weld nugget, and higher deformation occurs in
this region.
4.2.1. Failure mode analysis
Increasing the size of the weld nugget encourages the ten-
dency for PF mode and generally higher than a critical nugget
diameter (depending upon the material's characteristics), the
Fig. 10 e Cross section of the weld sample after failure through the tensile-shear test a) low magnification and b) high
magnification.
failure mode is transmitted from IF to PF mode. However, the
results of this study (Table 8) show that in all samples of TS
test, even in samples with a nugget diameter below the critical
limit of 4√t, the PF mode was detected. Some of the reasons
for the PF tendency of these welds are as follows.
a. The ductile microstructure and the absence of brittle
phases
The alloying elements of each material play a fundamental
role in the final microstructure and the corresponding hard-
ness, which directly correlates with the failure mode of the
weld points. Due to the chemical composition of this steel, its
microstructure is free from any precipitates or brittle phases
(including martensite). Therefore, the local stress concentra-
tion caused by the second phase does not exist in this single-
phase austenite microstructure. As a result, the integrity of
this ductile structure, by decreasing the growth rate of cracks
and increasing the plasticity of the tip of the cracks, provides
another preferred pathway for the propagation of the cracks
(PF mode) and delays the IF mode. In a study conducted by
Hernandez et al. [57] on the investigation of non-uniform
welds of high-strength steels, it has also been reported that
the presence of brittle phases, increases the tendency to IF
mode in resistance spot welds by little deviation of the crack
propagation path. In a study by Ramazani et al. [58], it is
mentioned that the stress concentration arising from the
electrode force around the weld nugget resulting from crack
initiation from the region with martensitic microstructure.
Since the martensite phase is not ductile, ductile failure is not
expected.
b. High ductility of the alloy and nugget easy rotation during
the tensile-shear test
In the TS test, the shear stress distribution parallel to the
interface of the sheets that the weld nugget experiences, is the
main parameter for the IF mode. However, in TS samples, due
to the low strength and high fracture of this alloy, shortly after
the start of the test, the bending phenomena due to the
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2
inherent nature of the tensile-shear test happens and with
some rotation of the weld nugget, the stress applied to the
nugget is converted from pure shear into the tensile-shear. In
fact, with the conversion of stress from the shear to tensile-
shear, the fracture tendency against the IF mode increases.
In PF mode, when the rotation reaches a specific value, tensile
stresses are formed around the weld nugget, causing plastic
deformation along with the thickness of the sheets. In the end,
the necking on both sides of the weld nugget increases, and
since the necking is not the same on both sheets, the nugget
remains on one of the sheets at the end of the TS test [55].
Shirmohammadi et al. [59], by fractography of the
annealed and quenched steel welds with IF mode of failure,
showed that a quasi-cleavage micro-mechanism controls
their fracture. In contrary referring to previous study
[4,60e62], the IF mode of failure in automobile steels is
controlled by a dimple-like micro-mechanism, indicating that
the FZ fracture toughness is controlling the failure. According
to the following relation proposed by Zhang [63] under TS
loading condition, PL is controlled by the nugget size, the
thickness of the sheet, and the fracture toughness of the FZ:
pffiffi
PIF ¼ 1:44 D t Kc
This reveals that PL is controlled by Kc, which is a material-
dependent property. Therefore, in the case of severe sensi-
tivity of the weld to the IF, the most effective way to achieve PF
and improve mechanical properties is to increase the FZ
fracture toughness. It is possible to be achieved through
suitable heat treatment.
As shown in Fig. 10, due to the high stress concentration,
the necking around the weld nugget in the HAZ region
occurred. Finally, failure occurred after a large deformation,
crack formation, and growth along the FZ/HAZ boundary. At
higher magnifications, deformation twins are observed that
are formed during the TS test in areas that experienced severe
stress and deformation. By moving from the HAZ toward the
center of the weld nugget, the density of these twins is
reduced and continues to zero, which indicates that this re-
gion was not subjected to stress.
c. Hardness variations in BM, HAZ, and FZ
Subrammanian et al. [9] reported that the failure mode
transition from IF to PF is not only caused by the size of weld
nugget but also the hardness properties of the weld. As
mentioned in the results section, the HAZ showed lower
hardness compared to BM and FZ. Reduction of the hardness
and high stress concentration of the HAZ compared to other
regions makes HAZ the weakest region that yields before any
other regions. In Fig. 10, it is well illustrated that the HAZ has
failed after necking and severe deformation. Hernandez et al.
[57] reported that the softening of the HAZ would help the
transfer of IF to PF mode in smaller nugget sizes. They also
found that the PF mode appears while the applied stress in the
HAZ is more than the local strength in this region. Pouranvari
et al. [18] found the vital role of FZ hardness to the hardness of
the fractured zone ratio (BM or HAZ) in PF mode in deter-
mining the mode of failure of the spot welds during the TS
test. According to this criterion, the lower the hardness value
5629
of the fractured zone to the hardness value of the FZ ratio for a
material with a specific thickness, the earlier the PF mode
takes place (at a smaller nugget size). Therefore, the minimum
size of the weld nugget, which is needed to prevent the IF
mode, is affected by the microstructure as well as the hard-
ness. Moreover, the presence of precipitates can affect the
strength of the nugget in austenitic RSW. Without pre-
cipitates, the nugget can exhibit lower strength levels due to
the formation of a softer microstructure [12,14].
4.2.2. Load to failure and energy absorption
Failure mode affects the mechanical performance of the
welds. In studies Subrammanian et al. (2018) [9], Chabok et al.
(2017) [64], and Noh et al. (2017) [65] it has been reported that
PF mode affects EA and PL significantly. In general, PF mode is
the desired failure mode because the plastic deformation is
more than the IF mode, which causes more energy absorption.
The PF mode demonstrates that the weld has the ability to
transmit a large amount of force and by high plastic defor-
mation around it, significant energy absorption will take place
during accidents. As previously explained (sec 4.2.), the me-
chanical performance of the spot welds is judged by the
physical properties of the spot welds and the failure mode
(depending on the hardness and toughness of the fractured
zone). Since the samples were fractured in PF mode, all the
samples tolerated high enough external force close together.
As shown in Fig. 7, the PL and EA show an ascending trend
by increasing the size of the weld nugget. As the size of the
weld nugget increases, the joint area between the two sheets
increases. As the load-bearing area grows larger, less stress
will apply to the joint region, and therefore, weld nugget can
withstand higher forces. In the PF mode, around the weld
nugget, there is usually a plastic deformation region called
plastic ring. As a result, by increasing the nugget size, and
increase in the size of the plastic ring, the weld can absorb
more energy before failure.
Regarding the mechanism proposed for the TS test, the size
of the weld nugget is the most critical controlling parameter
which determines the stress distribution at the interface and
around the weld nugget. Research studies have shown that
increasing the size of the weld nugget increases the EA and PL
during TS test [3,9,55]. Subrammanian et al. [9] reported that
by increasing the size of the weld nugget, the area that is
bearing the external forces, increases, and thereby, failure
occurs at higher forces. In the same way, the failure energy is
increased by increasing the weld nugget. Failure energy is a
function of the peak load and amount of plastic deformation
before fracture. Therefore, the failure energy increases with
increasing the nugget size.
By scrutinizing Fig. 7a and b, it can be inferred that although
the increase in the size of the weld nugget increases the failure
load, the increase in the failure energy is more significant. For
example, by increasing the size of the weld nugget from 3 mm
in the sample of Run83mm to 5.1 mm in the sample of
Run145.1mm, the fracture force increased from 5.46 to 6.55 KN,
which is equivalent to approximately a 20% increase in the
failure force. While the amount of energy absorption in the
same case increased from 10,000 to 36,000 mJ, which is far
more significant than the failure force. In other words, more
than a 200% increase in energy absorption was detected.
5630 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 5 : 5 6 1 5 e5 6 3 2

The magnitude of the failure load (maximum force in current, welding time, and electrode force were selected as
the loadedisplacement graph) of the samples in the tensile- process parameters. In general, the following results were
shear test, based on the AWS D8.1 M standard is according obtained.
to Eq. (5) [66]:
  1. The design of experiment analysis for 1 mm thick steel
ATSL ¼  6:36  10  7  UTS2 þ 6:58  10  4  UTS þ 1:674 shows that all welding current, welding time, and electrode

 UTS  4  t1:5 1000 ½kN force (type A electrode) parameters are statistically signif-
(5) icant and have been known to be effective at a 95% confi-
dence level on the size of the weld nuggets. However, the
In which “UTS” represents the ultimate tensile strength
effect of welding current on nugget diameter was more
and “t” is the thickness of the sheets and ATSL is the accept-
noticeable owing to F-value of 84/67 which named this
able tensile shear load. The ATSL for current steel with the
parameter as the most critical one.
ultimate tensile strength equal to 568 MPa and thickness of
2. The acceptable range of parameters was established via
1 mm is 4.2 KN (4200 N). Considering Fig. 7a, the peak load for
DOE graphs for 1 mm thick steel and type A electrode. In
all of the samples is at least 25% (for Run124mm with a nugget
light of this, the suitable range of welding time was
size of 4 mm) and at most 55% (for 145.1mm sample with a
selected between 9 and 21 cycles while for welding current
nugget size of 5.1 mm) higher than the failure load recom-
at 2 KN electrode force was in the range of 4e7 KA, and at
mended by AWS D8.1 M standard.
3 KN was between 5 and 6.5 KA, and at 4 KN was from 5.7 to
The peak failure load for the PF mode could be calculated
6.5 KA.
via Eq. (6):
3. The microstructure of the base material and the HAZ was
F ¼ 2:2  UTS  d  t (6) austenitic. In the HAZ, grain growth was observed, which is
caused by the welding thermal cycle. The weld region due
Where F denotes the peak failure load and d is the nugget
to its low hardenability and high cooling rate showed
diameter. Accordingly, peak failure load correlates well with the
complete austenite microstructure with the morphology of
experimental results for the acceptable nugget diameter [67].
the elongated columnar dendrites and cellular dendrites in
Samples in all nugget sizes, even below the recommended
the heat transfer direction.
criterion (i.e., weld nugget with diameter less than 4 mm),
4. The hardness profile in the weld sections shows three
deformed significantly before failure and failed in PF mode
distinct regions with different hardness, which is perfectly
(drawn dimples are the sign of the ductile fracture). In general,
in accordance with the base material, and HAZ and the
three reasons were proposed for pullout fracture tendency in
weld nugget regions in the microstructure. Due to the
samples: (1) HAZ softening, (2) ductility of the steel and easy
austenitic microstructure throughout the weld of this steel,
rotation during the tensile-shear test, and (3) full austenitic
the weld nugget has not shown higher hardness over the
ductile microstructure and the absence of brittle phases
base material.
throughout the weld.
5. All samples with different nugget sizes experienced pull-
The failure force and energy absorption in the weld of
out failure. The HAZ softening, the easy rotation during
samples increase with increasing the nugget size. By
tensile-shear test, the ductile austenitic microstructure,
increasing the diameter of the weld nugget from 3 to 5.1 mm
and the absence of the brittle phases throughout the weld
in samples, the fracture force and absorbed energy of the spot
are the reasons for such behavior. Reducing hardness in
welds increased from 5.4 to 6.6 KN, and from 10 to 31J
the HAZ hinders the pullout failure of the FeCrNiSi steel
respectively. In all of the samples, the peak load is 25e55%
welds in small nugget sizes.
more than the acceptable recommended force in the tensile-
shear test in accordance with AWS D8.1 M standard.
Generally, the weldability of the current steel was evalu-
ated to be suitable due to achieving: 1) the weld nuggets larger
Declaration of competing interest
than 4 mm; 2) the minimum acceptable strength of the
tensile-shear test based on AWS D8.1 M standard; and 3) the
The authors declare that they have no known competing
PF mode in samples The experiments show that porosity and
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
voids are mainly formed in the center of the weld nuggets.
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Besides, due to the PF mode, the stress and strain are mainly
concentrated in the HAZ, and the FZ is released from stress to
a large extent. As a result, the existence of defects like a void, references
crack, and cavity in the FZ has no appreciable effect on the
mechanical properties of the weldments.
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