JournaJof

Materials
Processing
Technology
ELSEVIER

Joumal ofMaterials Pro...'eSSing Te..imology 63 (1997) 672-677

Electrothermal Analysis of Electric Resistance Spot Welding Processes by a 3-D Finite Element
Method
H. Huh and W. J. Kang
Dept. ofMechanical Engineering
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
373-1 Kusongdong Yusonggu, Taejon 305-701, Korea

Abstract
Electric resistance spot welding which is an important process in auto-body assembly is simulated by a 3-D finite element code
developed. The main interest in the simulation is the quality of welding and the durability of electrodes, which needs electrothermal
analysis for temperature distribution in both electrodes and welded sheets. A finite element formulation is derived for both electric
analysis and thermal analysis that are coupled together. The contact resistance between electrodes and sheets is especially treated with
artificial interface elements in which the material properties for electric and thermal analysis are artificially imposed for physically
reasonable simulation.

1. Introduction
Electric resistance spot welding is an important process in the
industry. In electric resistance spot welding, the overlapping
work is positioned between the water-cooled electrodes, then the
heat is obtained by passing a large electrical current for a shot
period of time. Auto-body assembly needs 7000 to 12000 spots
of welding according to the size of a car, so the spot welding is
an important process in auto-body assembly. Each spot welding
is not performed on the same condition because of the alignment
of sheets and electrodes as well as the surface condition. For that
reason, a spot welding process needs the optimum process
condition that can afford allowance in parametric values for good
quality of welding. The optimum condition has to consider the
amount and duration of electric current, the shape and material
properties of electrode, and the surface condition and alignment
of sheets. The main interest in spot welding process is the
quality of welding and the durability of electrodes, which needs
electrothermal analysis for temperature distribution in both
electrodes and welded sheets[IJ[2J[3]. The shape of electrode is
an important parameter determining the shape and size of the
nugget which has large effects on the stress concentration and
fatigue strength of welding parts. The stress distribution in the
lap joint of spot-welded steel is calculated by finite element
method[4]. The effect of a space angle of line contact is
analytically calculated[5].
In this paper, a finite element formulation is derived for both
electric analysis and thermal analysis that are coupled together.
Two sets of formulation are uncoupled after finite dimensional
approximation to a time-incremental analysis. First, the electric
0924-0136/97/$15.00 @ 1997 Elsevier Science SA All rights reserved

PII S0924-0136(96)02705-7

potential is obtained for the entire field and scaled according to

the given electric current. The electric field obtained is used to
calculate the energy dissipation due to the electric resistance of
materials. The energy dissipation calculated from the electric
analysis is substituted for the heat generation in the heat
conduction equation to calculate the temperature distribution in
the entire domain. After the calculation, all material properties
are updated element-wise for the next step according to the
calculated temperature. The finite element code developed
simulates electric resistance spot welding processes with the
variation of process parameters such as the electric current, the
contact resistance, and the material properties of electrodes and
sheets. The contact resistance between electrodes and sheets is
especially treated with artificial interface elements in which the
material properties for electric and thermal analysis are
artifici~lly imposed for physically reasonable simulation. The
numerical result provides the electric potential field, the electric
current distribution, and the temperature distribution. Elliptic
electrodes are studied with the variation of ellipticities on
condition of the same tip area. The results informs that the shape
of electrodes is important in distribution of the electric current
and thus the heat generation. On the same welding condition
such as the welding current, the weldtime and the pressure, the
size of nuggets obtained by various shapes of electrodes which
have the same contact area are different from each other.
Relation between the shape of nugget and the shape of electrode
is important for the purpose of. obtaining necessary nuggets
which appropriate to the various stress condition and the number
of spots can be reduced by selecting an adequate elliptic
electrode.

673

H. Huh. W J. Kang / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 63 (1997) 672-677

2. Formulation for electrothermal analysis

The heat lOr electric resistance spot welding is obtained by
passing a large electric current through workpieces which have
electric resistance in the domain and contact surfaces. The
amount of heat generation per unit volume can be calculated by
the electric potential in the domain and then it can be applied to
the heat transfer equation to calculate the temperature
distribution in the electrode and workpieces. The maximum
temperature in electrodes and workpieces approaches the phase
change temperature and the effect of latent heat is considered by
increasing a specific heat in the temperature range of phase
change as Eqn (1).

T=T o

at

III

(7)

on

aD

(8)

(9)

t=O

where P is the density, cp is the specific heat per unit volume,

kij is the heat conductivity, and f id heat generation calculated
form Eqn (6).

(1)

where HL is a latent heat, TL is a melting temperature, and Ts is

solidifying temperature.

3. Finite element formulation

2.1 Formulation for electric analysis

When the principle of the first variation is applied to Eqn (2)

and Eqn (7), respectively, weakforms can be obtained as Eqn
(10) and Eqn (11).

The electric potentia] can be expressed by Quasi-Laplace

equation. The governing equation and its boundary condition are
as follows.
in

(2)

on

aD

(3)

where 0ij is a temperature dependent electric conductivity. The

electric current density and electric current can be expressed by
Eqn (4) and Eqn (5), respectively.

CI (ClV)fD Clx;
Oij Clxj Vdn = 0, '<:IV

(10)

aT)fD ( pcPat'
Tdn
=

a(
fD
aXj

(11)

CiT\;
-kijaXj/dn+ fD fTdn , '<:IT

Eqn (10) and Eqn (11) can be expressed as Eqn (12) and Eqn
(13) with integration by part and the divergence theorem,
respectively.

avav

(4)

r
r
JDOijaXj ~n + JaDooVVdr

(12)

= faDoogVdr, '<:IV
(5)

ClT-

where A is the area passed by electric current and ni is the

normal vector of the surface. The amount of heat generation by
Joule's effect per unit volume can be expressed by Eqn (6).

(6)

ClTClT\

fD ( PCPat'T+kijClxjClxi!n+ faDkoTTdr

(13)

= fDfTdn + faD (kog+h)Tdr, '<:IT

Eqn (12) and Eqn (13) can be numerically approximated into a

finite dimensional space with the aid of finite elements and
shape functions such as

For the given electric current Eqn (5) matches the value by
calibrating the electric potential V.

(14)

2.2 Formulation for heat transfer

(15)

The governing equation of heat transfer and boundary

conditions . follows.

in each element. After finite dimensional approximation two sets

674

H. Huh, W J. Kang / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 63 (1997) 672-677

of matrix equations are obtained for electrothermal analysis

(16)

(17)

with the first and initial boundary conditions.

Eqn (17) can be integrated in time by applying the CrankNicholson's e- Method as shown in Eqn (18).

(18)

For finite element simulation Eqn (16) is first solved to

calculate heat generation from the electric potential. The heat
generation calculated is substituted in Eqn (18), which is solved
for temperature distribution at the specific time. According to the
temperature distribution obtained, all electrothermal properties
are updated element-wise for the next time increment step. This
procedure continues until a desired temperature distribution is
obtained.

Fig. 2 through Fig. 5 show the electric and thermal properties

for the present analysis with the variation of the temperature. As
shown in Fig. 2, the electric resistance in contact interface
between workpieces is larger than that between an electrode and
a workpiece. Both values are decreased as the temperature
increases[7]. The electric resistivity and Heat conductivity of a
steel workpiece is much larger than those of a copper electrode
as shown in Fig. 3 and 4. As the temperature goes up, a steel
workpiece experiences phase changes absorbing the heat
energy[9]. In order to describe the phenomenon, the specific heat
per unit volume is modified by the enthalpy method thus the
heat capacitance is represented as shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 6-(a) through Fig. 8-(b) explains temperature
distributions in an electrode and a workpiece with respect to
each ellipticity. The shape of nuggets in the faying surface is
nearly the same as the shape of an electrode tip. However, the
amount of temperature rise and the nugget growth closely
depends on the ellipticity. The comparison has made for various
ellipticity in Fig. 9 to Fig. II.
Fig. 9 represents relation between the electrode ellipticity and
the nugget ellipticity. In this curve the nugget ellipticity nearly
follows that of an electrode except when the ellipticity is 0.25.
Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 represents relation between the electrode
ellipticity and the nugget area and thickness obtained
respectively. In contrast to the nugget ellipticity, the nugget area
and thickness shows asymptotic behavior demonstrating the poor
nugget growth when the ellipticity is smaller than a certain value.
Fig. 12 represents dynamic resistance curves vs. time with
the variation of the ellipticity. The figure shows the global
electric resistance decreases with the decrease of the ellipticity,
which indicates the amount of the heat energy generated. The
efficiency of welding decreases as the ellipticity decreases.
When an elliptic nugget is needed for a strength purpose, an
elliptic electrode of the ellipticity more than 0.4 can be selected
to maintain the welding efficiency and nugget size.

4. Results and discussion

The shape and size of nuggets are calculated with a 3-D
electrothermal finite element code developed. In the computation,
the electric current of 12000 amperes passes through the
electrodes and workpieces during the time of l2cycles
(0.2second). The material of sheets is steel and the size is
assumed 30mm x 30mm x 1.6mm which is sufficient for good
simulation of a real process. The ellipticities of the elliptic
electrodes are 1.0,0.75,0.5, 0.4, and 0.25 with its tip area being
constant as 38.44mm2 so that the electric contact resistance in
each case assumed the same.
Fig. 1 represents typical finite element meshes used in this
analysis. Because the welding system is symmetric, one eighth of
the system can be modeled in the analysis. To consider the
electric contact resistance, one-layered artificial interface
elements is used on each contact surfaces. The electrothermal
properties of artificial interface elements are carefully chosen to
have reasonable physical meaning considering complicated
contact phenomena[6-9].

Fig. 1 Finite element mesh of an elliptic electrode and a sheet.

675

H. Huh, W. J. Kang / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 63 (1997) 672-677

30. 0

1.5

:>

.....
<I'.l

Mel
u

--

- workpIece

20. 0

.....

Q)
~

.....u O. 6
.....

)Joe:::

1\

ee:

oj

0-

oj

oj

10.0

C
0

,--

Q)
U

O. 9

<I'.l

1+ elect:od~1

electrode
- workpiece
-x-

.....;>--, 1.2

.....

O. 3

oj
Q)

::r::

0.0

O. 0
0

500

1500

1000

2000

Temperature (DC)

500

1000

1500

Fig. 2 Electric resistivity in each contacts with respect to the

temperature.

Fig. 5 Heat capacitance in an electrode and a workpiece with

respect to the temperature.

A
~

120

';: 100
.....

9
8
7
6
5
4

-x- electrode
- workpiece

:>

..... 80
<I'.l

<I'.l

Q)
~

60

.........u 40

.170E+04
.160E+04
.150E+04
. 140E+04
. 130E+04
.120E+04
. 110E+04
.100E+04

.9UUE+U3
.8UUE+U3
.7UUE+U3

Min=25C

Q)

I:LJ

2000

Tempera t ure (DC)

20

Max=1852C

0
0

500

1000

1500

2000

Temperature (DC)
Fig. 3 Electric resistivity in an electrode and a workpiece with
respect to the temperature.

5.0
U

El
u

-->-.
.e
....,

.-....,

0
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

-x- electrode
-workpiece

4. 0
3. 0

:>

;:l

"0

2.0

C
0

...., 1.0
oj
Q)

::r::

Fig. 6-(a) Temperature distribution in the xy plane when the

ellipticity is 1.0.

O. 0
0

-500

1000

1500

.170E+04
.160E+04
.150E+04
. 140E+04
.130E+04
.120E+04
.110E+04
.100E+04
.900E+03
.800E+03
.700E+03

2000

Temperature (DC)
Fig. 4 Heat conductivity in an electrode and a workpiece with
respect to the temperature.

Fig. 6-(b) Temperature distribution in the yz plane when the

ellipticity is 1.0.

H. Huh, W. J. Kang / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 63 (1997) 672-677

676

----

0
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

. 170E+04
.160E+04
. 150E+04
. 140E+04
. 130E+04
. 120E+04
. 110E+04
.100E+04
.900E+03
.800E+03
.700E+03

0
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

.150E+04
. 140E+04
. 130E+04
.120E+04
. 110E+04
.100E+04
.900E+03
.800E+03
.700E+03
.600E+03

Min=25c
Max= I733C

Fig. 7-(a) Temperature distribution in the xy plane when the

ellipticity is 0.5.

0
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

. 170E+04
.160E+04
. 150E+04
. 140E+04
.130E+04
.120E+04
. 110E+04
.100E+04
.900E+03
.800E+03
.700E+03

Fig. 8-(b) Temperature distribution in the yz plane when the

ellipticity is 0.25.

1. 2
;>-, 1.0
.....,

....., O. 8
p.

- 0.6
Q)

.....,
~ 0.4

Ol

;:l

O. 2
~-

0.0

~,~~

O. 0

O. 2

O. 4

0.6

O. 8

1.0

1. 2

Electrode ellipticity
Fig. 7-(b) Temperature distribution in the yz plane when the
ellipticity is 0.5.

o
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

.150E+04
. 140E+04
.130E+04
.120E+04
. 110E+04
.100E+04
.900E+03
.800E+03
.700E+0~

Fig. 9 Relation between nugget ellipticity and electrode

ellipticity.

20

Electrode area =38. 44mm 2

N~ 15
<'J
Cl.l

10

.600E+03

Min=25c

o
O. 0

O. 2

O. 4

O. 6

O. 8

1. 0

1. 2

Electrode ellipticity
Fig. 8-(a) Temperature distribution in xy plane when the
ellipticity is 0.25.

Fig. 10 Relation between nugget area and electrode ellipticity.

H. Huh, W J. Kang / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 63 (1997) 672-677

1.0

5. Conclusion

-.. '" O. 8
'"
'" (j)
'"(j).-'4s::

s::

u
u,.c:
,.c:
(j)
u

.-...... ......

.-'4 . -

O. 6

......
(j)
0.4
(j).00 p.
00 .-'4

::>

H
0

677

O. 2

o. 0
0.0

O. 2

O. 4

O. 6

O. 8

I. 0

I. 2

Electrode ellipticity
Fig. 11 Relation between nugget thickness and electrode
ellipticity.

Electric resistance spot welding is simulated by a 3-D

electrothermal finite element code developed considering the
temperature dependent electrical and thermal properties. In this
simulation elliptic electrodes are adopted and the effects of the
variation of their ellipticities on the acquired nuggets are
calculated. Among simulated electrodes, an circular-shaped
electrode can produce the largest nugget under the same welding
condition. The welding efficiency shows asymptotic relation to
the ellipticity of an electrode. When an elliptic nugget is needed
for a strength purpose, an elliptic electrode of the ellipticity
larger than 0.4 can be selected to maintain the welding efficiency
and nugget size. An elliptic electrode is used in this range then
the obtained nugget have smaller stress concentration than that
of circular nugget at the short edge of nugget.

References
150
(j)

140

u
l:1

oj

...... 130

'"
'"

(j)

""u

120

-x-e=1.0
-Q-e=O.75
-A- e=O. 5
e=O. 4
~ e=O. 25

~ 110

s::

>-.,
Cl

100
90
O. 00

-4--

O. 05

O. 10

O. 15

O. 20

O. 25

Time (sec.)
Fig. 12 Variation of the dynamic resistance with respect to time
for various ellipticity.

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