The Optimization of Welding Spots’ Arrangement in A-Pillar Patchwork Blank Hot Stamping
With increasingly severe environmental problems, energy saving and environmental protection have become two important issues to be solved in the automobile industry. Patchwork blank hot-stamping technology can be used to obtain light-weight and high-strength parts and is thus increasingly used in th...
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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author | Wenfeng Li Zhiqiang Zhang Hongjie Jia Mingwen Ren |
author_facet | Wenfeng Li Zhiqiang Zhang Hongjie Jia Mingwen Ren |
author_sort | Wenfeng Li |
collection | DOAJ |
description | With increasingly severe environmental problems, energy saving and environmental protection have become two important issues to be solved in the automobile industry. Patchwork blank hot-stamping technology can be used to obtain light-weight and high-strength parts and is thus increasingly used in the manufacture of autobody parts. Because the main blank and the patched blank need to be connected through spot welding before forming, the welding spots’ arrangement has a great influence on the formability of the part. In this study, a thermal–mechanical coupling finite element analysis model of A-pillar patchwork blanks was established. With the thickness of the patched blank, the distance between the welding spot and the external contour of the patched blank, and the number of welding spots as optimization variables, together with the maximum thinning rate and the maximum welding spot force as objectives, the influence of welding spot arrangement on forming quality was analyzed, and the welding spots’ arrangement was optimized using a central composite design (CCD), the response surface method (RSM), and the genetic algorithm (GA). The results showed that when the initial welding spot was located close to the contour of the patched blank, the bending moment was greater when the weld spot passed through the die corner, leading to the rupture of the welding spot or its surrounding base material due to the greater thinning rate. When the patched blank was thicker than the main blank, the main blank cracked during the forming process due to a greater increase in the thinning rate. The optimal solution of the weld spot arrangement on the A-pillar patchwork blanks was a 1.2 mm thick main blank, 0.8 mm thick patched blank, a distance of 29 mm between the weld spot and the contour line of the patched blank, and 16 weld spots. Hot-stamping experiments were conducted using the optimized weld spots’ arrangement, and high-quality parts were obtained. |
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spelling | doaj.art-facfd8584bd34137ac9cfea1f9eba0ab2023-11-19T02:10:47ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012023-08-01138140910.3390/met13081409The Optimization of Welding Spots’ Arrangement in A-Pillar Patchwork Blank Hot StampingWenfeng Li0Zhiqiang Zhang1Hongjie Jia2Mingwen Ren3Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Material Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, ChinaKey Laboratory of Automobile Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Material Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, ChinaKey Laboratory of Automobile Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Material Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, ChinaKey Laboratory of Automobile Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Material Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, ChinaWith increasingly severe environmental problems, energy saving and environmental protection have become two important issues to be solved in the automobile industry. Patchwork blank hot-stamping technology can be used to obtain light-weight and high-strength parts and is thus increasingly used in the manufacture of autobody parts. Because the main blank and the patched blank need to be connected through spot welding before forming, the welding spots’ arrangement has a great influence on the formability of the part. In this study, a thermal–mechanical coupling finite element analysis model of A-pillar patchwork blanks was established. With the thickness of the patched blank, the distance between the welding spot and the external contour of the patched blank, and the number of welding spots as optimization variables, together with the maximum thinning rate and the maximum welding spot force as objectives, the influence of welding spot arrangement on forming quality was analyzed, and the welding spots’ arrangement was optimized using a central composite design (CCD), the response surface method (RSM), and the genetic algorithm (GA). The results showed that when the initial welding spot was located close to the contour of the patched blank, the bending moment was greater when the weld spot passed through the die corner, leading to the rupture of the welding spot or its surrounding base material due to the greater thinning rate. When the patched blank was thicker than the main blank, the main blank cracked during the forming process due to a greater increase in the thinning rate. The optimal solution of the weld spot arrangement on the A-pillar patchwork blanks was a 1.2 mm thick main blank, 0.8 mm thick patched blank, a distance of 29 mm between the weld spot and the contour line of the patched blank, and 16 weld spots. Hot-stamping experiments were conducted using the optimized weld spots’ arrangement, and high-quality parts were obtained.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/8/1409lightweightpatchwork blankshot stampingresponse surface methodgenetic algorithmthinning rate |
spellingShingle | Wenfeng Li Zhiqiang Zhang Hongjie Jia Mingwen Ren The Optimization of Welding Spots’ Arrangement in A-Pillar Patchwork Blank Hot Stamping Metals lightweight patchwork blanks hot stamping response surface method genetic algorithm thinning rate |
title | The Optimization of Welding Spots’ Arrangement in A-Pillar Patchwork Blank Hot Stamping |
title_full | The Optimization of Welding Spots’ Arrangement in A-Pillar Patchwork Blank Hot Stamping |
title_fullStr | The Optimization of Welding Spots’ Arrangement in A-Pillar Patchwork Blank Hot Stamping |
title_full_unstemmed | The Optimization of Welding Spots’ Arrangement in A-Pillar Patchwork Blank Hot Stamping |
title_short | The Optimization of Welding Spots’ Arrangement in A-Pillar Patchwork Blank Hot Stamping |
title_sort | optimization of welding spots arrangement in a pillar patchwork blank hot stamping |
topic | lightweight patchwork blanks hot stamping response surface method genetic algorithm thinning rate |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/8/1409 |
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