• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.27-41
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• 1993

The estimation of nugget sizes was attempted by utilizing the artificial neural networks method. Artificial neural networks is a highly simplified model of the biological nervous system. Artificial neural networks is composed of a large number of elemental processors connected like biological neurons. Although the elemental processors have only simple computation functions, because they are connected massively, they can describe any complex functional relationship between an input-output pair in an autonomous manner. The electrode head movement signal, which is a good indicator of corresponding nugget size was determined by measuring the each test specimen. The sampled electrode movement data and the corresponding nugget sizes were fed into the artificial neural networks as input-output pairs to train the networks. In the training phase for the networks, the artificial neural networks constructs a fuctional relationship between the input-output pairs autonomusly by adjusting the set of weights. In the production(estimation) phase when new inputs are sampled and presented, the artificial neural networks produces appropriate outputs(the estimates of the nugget size) based upon the transfer characteristics learned during the training mode. Experimental verification of the proposed estimation method using artificial neural networks was done by actual destructive testing of welds. The predicted result by the artifficial neural networks were found to be in a good agreement with the actual nugget size. The results are quite promising in that the real-time estimation of the invisible nugget size can be achieved by analyzing the process variable without any conventional destructive testing of welds.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.1-6
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• 2013

Nowadays, the weight lightening of automotive is required as conserving the environment has become a major worldwide issue. To solve this issue, various researches for the use of light materials(Alalloy, Mgalloy)and ultra high strength steel as substitutes of the current structural material have been carried out. Application of laser stitch welding to the assembly of automotive produces improvement in strength, lightening of body, higher fuel efficiency, lower production cost as well as reduction in assemble line due to its fast welding speed, superior accessible and weld quality. This process overcomes the shortcomings of the current resistance spot welding such as high electricity consumption, electrode replacement, and economical, technical limitation in design and production method of automotives.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.16-23
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• 2019

Steels for automotive fuel tank require unique properties such as corrosion resistance for fuel, welding for joining, forming for press, and painting for exterior. Recently, automakers have been requiring excellent seam weldable steels to enhance manufacturing productivity of fuel tank. Thus, POSCO developed a new type of functional steels coated with nano-composite thin layer on Zn-Ni plating steels. The nano-composite coating solution was prepared by mechanical fine dispersion of solutions consisting of polymeric resin and nano-composite materials in aqueous media. The composite solution was coated on the plating steel surface by using roll coater and cured through induction furnace. These new developed plating steels were evaluated for quality performances such as seam and spot weldability, press formability, and corrosion resistance. These new functional steels coated with nano-composite layer exhibited excellent seam weldability and press formability. Detailed discussion of coating solution and experimental results suggest that nano-sized composite dispersion as coating layer plays a key role in enhancing the quality performance.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.25-31
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• 2018

Recently, research on the development of lightweight vehicle bodies is increasing continuously as a response to fuel economy regulations. To reduce the weight of a vehicle body, a conventional steel plate has been substituted by light weight material with high specific strength and the jointing of multi-materials is generally applied. On the other hand, the customer's demand for safety and emotional quality in NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, a light weight with proper strength and NVH quality is needed. In the view of light weighting and NVH quality, the application of a vibration proof steel plate can be an effective solution but the formability of a sandwich panel is different with a conventional steel sheet. Therefore, careful analysis of formability is required. This study aims to characterize the formability of a sandwich high-strength steel plate. The high-strength steel plates of different thicknesses with resistance spot welding and sealer bonding were analyzed using forming limits diagram through a cup drawing test.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1179-1185
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• 2011

Cold and hot-rolled carbon steel sheets are commonly used in railroad cars or commercial vehicles such as the automobile. The sheets used in these applications are mainly fabricated by spot welding, which is a type of electric resistance welding. However, the fatigue strength of a spot-welded joint is lower than that of the base metal because of high stress concentration at the nugget edge of the spot-welded part. In particular, the fatigue strength of the joint is influenced by not only geometrical and mechanical factors but also the welding conditions for the spot-welded joint. Therefore, there is a need for establishing a reasonable criterion for a long-life design for spot-welded structures. In this thesis, ${\Delta}P-N_f$ relation curves have been used to determine a long-life fatigue-design criterion for thin-sheet structures. However, as these curves vary under the influence of welding conditions, mechanical conditions, geometrical factors, etc. It is very difficult to systematically determine a fatigue-design criterion on the basis of these curves. Therefore, in order to eliminate such problems, the welding residual stresses generated during welding and the stress distributions around the weld generated by external forces were numerically and experimentally analyzed on the basis of the results, reassessed fatigue strength of gas welded joints.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.367-382
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• 2015

This paper aims to conduct the reliability-based assessment of the welded joint in the orthotropic steel bridge deck by use of a mesh-insensitive structural stress (MISS) method, which is an effective numerical procedure to determine the reliable stress distribution adjacent to the weld toe. Both the solid element model and the shell element model are first established to investigate the sensitivity of the element size and the element type in calculating the structural stress under different loading scenarios. In order to achieve realistic condition assessment of the welded joint, the probabilistic approach based on the structural reliability theory is adopted to derive the reliability index and the failure probability by taking into account the uncertainties inherent in the material properties and load conditions. The limit state function is formulated in terms of the structural resistance of the material and the load effect which is described by the structural stress obtained by the MISS method. The reliability index is computed by use of the first-order reliability method (FORM), and compared with a target reliability index to facilitate the safety assessment. The results achieved from this study reveal that the calculation of the structural stress using the MISS method is insensitive to the element size and the element type, and the obtained structural stress results serve as a reliable basis for structural reliability analysis.