Evaluation of the Role of Eddy Current in Resistance Spot Welding

Abstract

Extensive work had been conducted on spot-welding due to its rapidly increasing industrial importance. The resistance spot-welding involves complicated phenomena, as several effects are found in the process, e.g., temperature, surface roughness, pressure, and eddy current effects. Most of the work exerted for analyzing the spot-welding process neglect the effect of the eddy current generated during the flow of the huge welding main current through the assembly of electrodes and work sheets. This work presents an analytical method to investigate the generation of eddy current and to determine the total effective welding current in spot-welding. The current distribution on the work sheet when it is fed by a conducting electrode is also investigated. The obtained current formula is based on electromagnetic principles, where a very strong magnetic field is generated in the core of the electrodes as well as in the materials of work sheets due to the flow of very high amperage. The final resultant effective current is the superposition of the electrode welding current and the induced eddy current in the electrode and work piece assembly. The results offer a viable mathematical model, which can be applied for a precise prediction of the effective value of welding current in spot-welding processes, if applied in a comprehensive model including all involved effects.