Investigation of the effect of using hot forming and in-die quenching on the properties of the spot welded joints in different aluminium alloys

Abstract

In the automotive industry there is a growing tendency for the application of high strength aluminium alloys. The aluminium alloys studied in this paper are the AA5754-H22 (AlMg3), AA6082-T6 (AlMgSi1) and AA7075 (AlZn5.5MgCu). However, their limited formability properties in room temperature mean obstacle when a complicated shape car body panel is formed. In order to successfully form these sheets into the demanded geometry a new process was developed, the hot forming and in-die quenching (HFQ). However, this technology also changes the weldability of materials. Therefore, in our work we investigated the effect of using HFQ on the properties of the spot welded joints in different aluminium alloys. The spot welded joints were examined by macro testing, shear tension and hardness tests.