Predicting liquid metal embrittlement severity in resistance spot welding using hot tensile testing data

Abstract Advanced high strength steels are increasingly being used in automotive structures. However, the zinc coating commonly applied for corrosion protection can add complications during the resistance spot welding (RSW) process, namely liquid metal embrittlement (LME). This study evaluates the LME susceptibility of three material grades and two coating types during RSW and provides a new approach to assess material LME susceptibility. This work provides a methodology to process hot tensile testing LME susceptibility data to calculate LME severity observed in resistance spot welding. This methodology was applied to hot tensile testing data from six steels (three grades with two different coating types) and successfully predicted the relative LME response of these materials resulting from RSW.