About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Forming and Joining of Advanced Sheet Metal Materials
|
| Presentation Title |
Understanding Weld Nugget Formation in Ultrasonic Assisted Resistance Spot Welding (URW) Process |
| Author(s) |
Taosif Alam, Xun Liu, Ho Kwon, Joshua Gillilan, Teresa Rinker, Wayne Cai |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Taosif Alam |
| Abstract Scope |
Ultrasonic-assisted resistance spot welding (URW) is a promising hybrid process for joining multilayer thin aluminum foils to tab for battery cell internal assembly. This process integrates ultrasonic vibration into conventional resistance spot welding (RSW), which enhances nugget formation and improves weld strength. URW produces nuggets similar to or larger in size than RSW. To understand the underlying mechanisms, a numerical framework is developed combining a coupled thermo-mechanical-electrical FEM model to a CFD model that incorporates various ultrasonic-induced effects including acoustic softening, streaming and cavitation. The analysis reveals that while acoustic softening and streaming have minimal effect on enlarging nuggets, cavitation-induced thermal energy within the molten pool plays a dominant role. Finally, simulations and experiments are conducted at varying vibration amplitudes and numbers of foils to evaluate the relative influences of Joule heating and cavitation-induced thermal energy on weld nugget formation. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Aluminum, Joining, Modeling and Simulation |