Resistance-Weld Simulation Project Earns AISI Award
May 29, 2025Comments
The Auto/Steel Partnership (A/SP) announced that its collaborative research team has earned the American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI) 2025 Automotive Excellence Award, presented during the Great Designs in Steel symposium held May 21. The award honors an A/SP joint project with General Motors and the University of Waterloo, titled Advanced Industrial Simulation Method for Spot Weld Separation Validated with Components. The work represents a major step forward in validating simulation methods that improve weld integrity in automotive structures, say A/SP officials, particularly those using advanced high-strength Steels.
The team of researchers and engineers involved in the project include:
- Tingting Zhang and Hassan Ghassemi-Armaki, General Motors
- Mohammad Shojaee, Cameron Tolton, Abdelbaset Midawi, Michael Worswick, Elliot Biro, and Cliff Butcher, University of Waterloo
- Eric McCarty, A/SP
The research introduced a methodology that uses both standard and advanced steel-coupon tests to derive the mechanical properties of single spot welds, and develop a failure surface capable of predicting weld separation under complex loading conditions. These calibrated material models can be integrated into finite-element simulations of welded structural components subjected to quasi-static and dynamic forces. The result is a more accurate and predictive simulation capability that enhances the structural performance of future vehicle designs.
See also: American Iron & Steel Institute
Technologies: Materials, Welding and Joining
