Case Studies in Automotive Body and Chassis Components
Case Studies in Automotive Body and Chassis Components
Tuesday, October 21, 2025: 10:20 AM
Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) has become a critical material in automotive body and chassis construction due to its favorable strength-to-weight ratio, crashworthiness, and potential for increased fuel efficiency. However, manufacturing processes such as forming, welding, and hole punching introduce residual stress (RS) distributions that can significantly affect component performance and reliability. This study presents RS characterizations across several AHSS samples, including formed panels, welded joints, punched-hole regions, and steel U-channels, using X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques.
Surface and subsurface RS maps and profiles reveal steep gradients, with localized variations in both magnitude and sign occurring over millimeter-scale distances. In welded regions, distinct RS behaviors were observed between the parent metal, heat-affected zone, and weld metal. RS near punched holes and within U-channel bends demonstrated that geometry and processing history play critical roles in stress localization.
These findings highlight the inadequacy of isolated RS spot checks and emphasize the importance of high-resolution RS mapping for critical regions. A better understanding of RS distributions enables optimization of manufacturing parameters and supports more reliable structural performance in AHSS automotive components.
Surface and subsurface RS maps and profiles reveal steep gradients, with localized variations in both magnitude and sign occurring over millimeter-scale distances. In welded regions, distinct RS behaviors were observed between the parent metal, heat-affected zone, and weld metal. RS near punched holes and within U-channel bends demonstrated that geometry and processing history play critical roles in stress localization.
These findings highlight the inadequacy of isolated RS spot checks and emphasize the importance of high-resolution RS mapping for critical regions. A better understanding of RS distributions enables optimization of manufacturing parameters and supports more reliable structural performance in AHSS automotive components.