Performance Evaluation of Self-Piercing Riveted and Resistance Spot Welded Dissimilar Steel Joints

Self-piercing riveting (SPR) is a mechanical joining process that has the potential to replace resistance spot welding (RSW) and is being adopted in the automotive industry.In this study, a dissimilar stack configuration widely used in the automotive industry was used. Joining was performed using self-piercing riveting and resistance spot welding processes. Welding parameters in spot welding were optimized to produce anugget with a diameter similar to the rivet shank. Tensile and fatigue attributes of these joints were assessed to evaluate the joint performance. Additionally, microstructure-property correlation was performed to evaluate the failuremode and susceptible region in the joint that can lead to crack initiation and failure.