• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.301-303
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• 2008

In order to investigate the influence of anisotropy on formability and also to obtain guidelines for the stamping process design in friction stir welded TWB (tailor welded blank), the aluminum ally 6111-T4 sheet was welded with three different types of combination: RD||RD, TD||RD and TD||TD (Here, RD and TD mean the rolling direction and transverse direction, respectively) and then hemisphere dome stretching and cylindrical cup drawing tests were carried out. In addition, the numerical analysis was performed to confirm the validity of experimental results. For the numerical analysis, the non-quadratic orthotropic yield function, Yld2004-18p was utilized to represent precise anisotropic properties.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.362-368
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• 2011

For the purpose of improving crashworthiness qualities and maximizing weight saving efficiency, TWB's(tailor welded blanks) of quench-hardenable boron steel sheet formed by hot stamping processes has been used for automotive BIW (body in white) applications. In this work, the flow behaviors of TWB of quench-hardenable boron steel sheet were investigated in uniaxial tension tests at elevated temperature. TWB's having a uniform thickness of 1.4mm were fabricated by laser welding. Specimens with two weld line directions were used to test the mechanical property and reliability of the weld zone. After heating at $950^{\circ}C$ for 5min, the specimens were subjected to tension test at 650, 700 and $800^{\circ}C$ with a strain rate of 0.01 /s and at $700^{\circ}C$ with strain rates of 0.01, 0.1 and 1/s. The ultimate strength of the weld zones was higher than that of the base materials at 650 and $700^{\circ}C$, but was similar to the base metal at $800^{\circ}C$. Fracture occurred at the base material at 650 and $700^{\circ}C$, but at the weld zone at $800^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.48-55
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• 2000

For the Tailor Welded Blank sheet used for automobile body panel, the characteristics of fatigue strength and crack propagation behavior were studied. The thickness of specimens was joined to be same (0.9mm+0.9mm) and different (0.9mm+2.0mm) .As a base test, mechanical properties around weld zone were examined . The results indicated that there were no significant decreases in mechanical properties , but hardness around weld bead was 2.3 times greater than base material . The fatigue strength was the highest when the loading direction was parallel to the welding direction, which was about 85% of tensile strength of base material. It was decreased by 8.5% when the thickness of specimens and base metal was different, and it was increased by 25% when pres-strain was applied. The crack propagation rate was noticeably decreased around weld line and rapidly increased as it passed through weld line. Reviewing the shape of the crack propagation , crack width around weld line was around the weld zone due to retardation of crack growth , but is became narrow passing weld line due to decreased toughness.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.143-150
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• 2003

Experimental research has been carried out to investigate the characteristics of the fatigue crack initiation and propagation behavior of Tailor Welded Blank(TB) sheet used for vehicle body. We used three types of specimens which were machined of the same base metal: one is 1.4mm thick, another is 1.6mm thick, and the third(TB specimen) is laser-welded of two specimens(1.4mm and 1.6mm thick ones). The results of tensile and hardness test indicate that the yield strength of the TB specimen is the highest, and the hardness around welding bead is higher than that of base metal. Fatigue strength and fatigue limit of the TB specimen are much superior to those of the base metal up to $10^6$ cycles. The fatigue crack propagation of the heat-affected zone of the TB specimen is slower than that of the base metal. Welding bead has the fastest crack Propagation in the low stress intensity factor range$(\DeltaK)$ region, but the slowest in the high $\DeltaK$ region. The fatigue propagation characteristic of the TB specimen is relatively stable in comparison with that of the base metal in the high ${\Delta}K$ region around over $28MPa\sqrt{m}$.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2012

Recent issues in the automotive industries are, improvement of fuel efficiency according to the worldwide $CO_2$ regulation, passenger safety through enhanced crashworthiness, superior design and cost reduction due to price fluctuation of raw material. To meet these demands, steelmaking companies are developing advanced high strength steel and new process technologies such as hydroforming, TWB(Tailor Welded Blank), hot stamping and so on. In addition, eco-friendly and high corrosion resistant coating technologies are getting more attention to comply with the environmental regulations. In this paper, reviews and prospects of recent coating technologies for automotive use are presented.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.277-286
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• 2001

Among the ULSAB methods for the lightweight automobile body, Tailor Welded Blank(TWB) is adopted and the design process is developed for the existing component. Topology optimization conducted to find the distribution of the variable thickness. The number of parts and the welding lines are determined from it. In the detail design, size optimization is carried out to find the optimum thickness of each part and then, the final parting lines are tuned by shape optimization. A commercial optimization software GENESIS is utilized for the optimization processes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.339-344
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• 1999

For the Tailor Welded Blank sheet used for automobile body panel, the characteristics of fatigue strength and crack propagation behavior were studied. The thickness of specimen was machined to be same (0.9mm+0.9mm) and different (0.9mm+2.0mm). As a base test, mechanical properties around welding zone were examined. The results indicated that there were no significant decreases in mechanical properties, but hardness around welding bead is 2.3 times greater than base material. The fatigue strength was the highest when the loading direction was parallel to the welding direction, which was about 85% of tensile strength of base material. It was decreased by 8.5% when the thickness of specimen and base material was different, and it is increased by 25% when pre-strain was applied. The crack propagation rate was noticeable decreased around welding line and rapidly increased as it passed by welding line. Reviewing the shape of the crack propagation, crack width around welding line was wide around the welding zone due to retardation of crack growth, but it became narrow passing welding line due to decreased toughness.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.283-291
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• 2012

In order to increase the anti-oxidation property during the tailor welding blanked hot press forming process for a high strength boron steel sheet, we performed a different coating method on the boron-steel sheet such as 87% Al - 13% Si and Fe - 8.87 Zn dipping plating procedure. However, during laser welding process, the Al-Si coated steel sheet has showed a low tensile strength and about half value of elongation than the original boron-steel sheet. Aluminum and silicon, elements of coating layer were diffused into the boron-steel matrix and have shown a low strength result than non-coated specimen. On the other hand, Zinc-coated boron-steel has expectedly showed a excellent tensile strength and micro-harness value in the welded area like original boron-steel.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.30-36
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• 2013

Recently the use of ultra high strength steels(UHSS) in structural and safety component is rapidly increasing in the automotive industry. Furthermore, it commonly use in tailor welded blank laser welding process before hot stamping to reduce lightweight vehicle. However TWB process is to be a problem about welded strength after hot stamping because it's welded before heat treatment. Therefore, in this study, laser welds of TWB after heat treatment were analyzed for changes in the characteristics, especially the impact on the oxidation and decarburization in order to prevent pre-coated Al-Si layer welds on the properties for intensive investigation. As a result, the degradation of the TWB weldments changes in the heat treatment conditions alone, without any pre-treatment of the coating layer has confirmed that there is a limitation on the improvement. Furthermore Al-Si elements are overall distributed on the weldment and it specially concentrated along the fusion line. Hardness value of Al-Si segregation area is less than 350Hv and tensile strength showed just 78~83% compared with substrate. Accordingly, we proved that both side Al-Si coating should be removed in order to ensure the strength of the substrate.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2000.04b
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• pp.187-194
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• 2000

Weight reduction for an automobile body is being sought for the fuel efficiency and the energy conservation. One way of the efforts is adopting Ultra Light Steel Auto Body (ULSAB) concept. The ULSAB concept can be used for the light weight of an automobile door with the tailor welded blank (TWB). A design process is defined for the TWB. The inner panel of door is designed by the TWB and optimization. The design starts from an existing component. At first, the hinge and inner reinforcements are removed. In the conceptual design stage, topology optimization is conducted to find the distribution of variable thicknesses. The number of parts and the welding lines are determined from the topology design. In the detailed design process, size optimization is carried out to find thickness while stiffness constraints are satisfied. The final parting lines are determined by shape optimization.