Adhesive weld bonding of interstitial free steel at spot welding for automotive application

In this study, the effect of adhesive bonding on strength and strength-ductility behaviour of welding joint in electrical resistance spot welding of 7315 grade IF steel sheets was investigated. 7315 grade (DIN EN 10130-1999) IF steels were adhesively bonded and different welding current and welding cycle conditions were performed in welding process. For adhesive bonding, Loctite Terostat 9120-Grey and Terostat 9220-Black grade adhesive bonders were used. Additionally, adhesively bonded joint samples were also performed without welding. Microstructure and tensile-shear tests of the adhesively bonded and welded materials were evaluated. Failure modes of the weld bonded tensile sheared samples were observed to be different from only welded samples. Experimental results have shown that with the increase in the weld time and weld current, the effect of the adhesive weld bonding on tensile performance also increases.