About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 AWS Professional Program
|
| Symposium
|
2025 AWS Professional Program
|
| Presentation Title |
Improved Electrode Cooling Through Fluid Structural Interaction Modeling of Resistance Spot Welding |
| Author(s) |
Andrew Tong, Kevin Teng, Robert Watson, Wei Zhang |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Andrew Tong |
| Abstract Scope |
Resistance spot welding (RSW) is a joining technology widely used in the automotive industry for its weld consistency and high throughput. The weld nugget is formed by passing a high current (~10 kA) through a pair of electrodes. As more difficult stack-ups are joined by RSW, the electrodes are exposed to more intense heat flux which can result in electrode overheating and deformation, ultimately limiting their lifespan. Physics-based modeling of heat flow during RSW is critical to improving electrode lifespan. Electrodes are water cooled − a fact that many literature studies simplify by assuming a film coefficient applied to the electrode inner surface. There exist a very limited number of literature studies focused on cooling water flow inside the electrode, but these models assume a constant heat flux onto the electrode tip. These assumptions severely limit the utilities of these models in accurately predicting the heat flow in the electrode during RSW. In this study, a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model combining a RSW finite element (FE) model with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, was developed. The FE model computed the temperature distribution during RSW by considering electrical contact interactions and associate Joule’s heating. The FSI model transferred heat from the FE domain to the cooling surface, where the CFD simulated the convective cooling by the water flow. The FSI model was then applied to a commonly used electrode geometry. Model validation was achieved by comparing surface temperatures measured by an infrared camera with simulated results on the electrode surface. The simulation results revealed that heat transfer to the cooling water was highly non-uniform across the electrode inner surface. Specifically, a region of stagnant water flow was discovered, resulting in a drastic reduction in cooling efficiency. Under an intense heating situation, the FSI model predicted boiling in the stagnation region. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |