• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.794-801
• /
• 2021

This study examined the mechanical strength and corrosion resistance of a dissimilar joint with an aluminum alloy and steel by resistance element spot welding. SPFC980 steels and Al5052 alloys were applied as the base materials. S20C steels were assembled on Al5052 for the riveting element before the electric resistance welding process. The SPFC980-S20C riveted Al5052 was welded at a 6.5 kA current and 250 kgf/㎠. As a result, the engraved S20C elements formed unstable nuggets after the spot welding processes. In contrast, in the embossed S20C elements, exceptional mechanical properties, such as robust corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance, were obtained by structurally sound joints. The correlation between the microstructure and mechanical properties were examined by microstructural investigations and FEM simulations. The corrosion reliability of element spot-welded SPFC980-Al5052 dissimilar joints was investigated systematically.