TY - JOUR A1 - Böhne, C. A1 - Meschut, G. A1 - Biegler, M. A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - The Influence of Electrode Indentation Rate on LME Formation during RSW N2 - During resistance spot welding of zinc-coated advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs) for automotive production, liquid metal embrittlement (LME) cracking may occur in the event of a combination of various unfavorable influences. In this study, the interactions of different welding current levels and weld times on the tendency for LME cracking in third-generation AHSSs were investigated. LME manifested itself as high penetration cracks around the circumference of the spot welds for welding currents closely below the expulsion limit. At the same time, the observed tendency for LME cracking showed no direct correlation with the overall heat input of the investigated welding processes. To identify a reliable indicator of the tendency for LME cracking, the local strain rate at the origin of the observed cracks was analyzed over the course of the welding process via finite element simulation. While the local strain rate showed a good correlation with the process-specific LME cracking tendency, it was difficult to interpret due to its discontinuous course. Therefore, based on the experimental measurement of electrode displacement during welding, electrode indentation velocity was proposed as a descriptive indicator for quantifying cracking tendency. KW - Liquid Metal Embrittlement (LME) KW - Crack KW - Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) KW - Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS) KW - Welding Current KW - Heat Input KW - Simulation PY - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.29391/2022.101.015 SN - 0043-2296 VL - 101 IS - 7 SP - 197-s EP - 207-s PB - American Welding Society CY - New York, NY [u.a.] AN - OPUS4-55600 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -