Study on Nonlinear Multiple Regression Modeling of Nugget Morphology for Unequal-Thickness Dissimilar Steel Welding

The special thermal effect makes some alterations to nugget morphology during resistance spot welding on unequal-thickness dissimilar steel. Method of nonlinear multiple orthogonal regression assembling design was introduced to design the experiment and investigate the resistance spot welding process. The indexes studied in experiments were nugget diameter and nugget deviation, which were the primary factors affecting the nugget morphology. Furthermore, four process parameters, namely welding current, electrode force, welding current duration and heat-treatment pulse current, and interactions among them were considered as the factors impacting the indexes. The nonlinear multiple regression models about nugget morphology parameters were developed on the basis of optimization. The experimental results showed that there was an effective prediction on nugget size based on the optimized models. The optimization to welding process also can be realized by the analysis to the effects of parameters and interactions.