Development of Durability Enhancement Technology for Arc Weldings in Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) Chassis Parts

Abstract

In general, discontinuity of metallurgical and structural points of weld zone could decline the fatigue strength. For the lightweight trend, the AHSS application in automotive chassis is in-progress. However, there are few research reports on AHSS welds fatigue strength in especially automotive chassis parts. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the effects of the factors affecting the AHSS welding fatigue strength. As the result, the stress concentration of weld bead is the most important factor for welding fatigue strength. For the enhancement of welding fatigue strength, we focused on reducing the stress concentration of the welding beads. So, we applied and proved the plasma welding process and GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) dressing method. It was verified by uniaxial fatigue specimen, fatigue performance increased from 40 to 60% by applying TIG dressing method compared to the conventional GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding). These results could be recommended the enhancement of fatigue performance of AHSS.