LAUSR

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of sheet thickness on nugget size and residual stresses in resistance spot welding. A two-dimensional coupled electro-thermo-mechanical finite element model is employed to predict the residual stresses in aluminum alloy 6061-T6. The simulation results are compared with the results obtained from the experimental nugget size and the residual stresses are measured by the X-ray diffraction method. The results indicate that the highest tensile residual stress occurs at the center of the nugget and diminish along the nugget radius. The residual stresses increase on increasing the electrical current and reducing the welding time. By increasing the sheet thickness, the affordable range of welding current and welding cycle increase. It also leads to the enlargement of the nugget, which consequently results in the increase of the residual stresses.