• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.1367-1375
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• 2010

In this study, optimization of the process parameters of the resistance spot welding of a sheet of aluminum-coated boron alloyed steel, 22MnB5, used in hot stamping has been performed by a Taguchi method to increase the strength of the weld joint. The process parameters selected were current, electrode force, and weld time. The heating temperature and heating time of 22MnB5 are considered to be noise factors. It was known that the variation in the thickness of the intermetallic compound layer between the aluminum-coated layer and the substrate, which influences on the formation of nugget, was generated due to the difference of diffusion reaction according to heating conditions. From the results of spot weld experiment, the optimum weld condition was determined to be when the current, electrode force, and weld time were 8kA, 4kN, and 18 cycles, respectively. The result of a test performed to verify the optimized weld condition showed that the tensile strength of the weld joint was over 32kN, which is considerably higher than the required strength, i.e., 23kN.