@article{63391, abstract = {{This study addresses the challenge of insufficient weld penetration in the outer thin low-carbon steel during resistance spot welding of three-layer dissimilar stack-ups containing advanced high-strength steels. To overcome thermal imbalance constraints, an innovative strategy leveraging plastic shell containment is proposed to elevate the expulsion-free heat input threshold. By applying a combined preheating and ramping current profile, a coordinated “shell-first, nugget-second” sequence is achieved. This mechanism creates a solid-state barrier prior to rapid fusion, effectively preventing expulsion. Experimental results demonstrate that while the reference constant-current schedule fails to maintain a process window under a 2 mm initial gap (IG) disturbance, the proposed strategy significantly enhances process stability. It increases the maximum expulsion-free heat input by 24 % (to 6338 J) under normal conditions and by 77 % (to 6482 J) under the IG condition. Crucially, the increased heat input drives nugget growth across all interfaces, achieving a penetration depth of 0.38 mm (48 % penetration ratio) in the low-carbon steel sheet under the gap condition. These findings validate the strategy’s effectiveness in ensuring weld quality and robustness, which is further confirmed by its transferability to a lowerresistivity DX54D cover sheet.}}, author = {{Yang, Keke and Männer, Leonhard and Wang, Zhuoqun and Olfert, Viktoria and Böhm, Yannic and Hein, David and Meschut, Gerson}}, issn = {{1526-6125}}, journal = {{Journal of Manufacturing Processes}}, number = {{Special issue entitled: ‘Trends on spot joining’ published in Journal of Manufacturing Processes.}}, pages = {{984--1000}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{Process window expansion with transferable applicability in three-layer dissimilar steel resistance spot welding via expulsion prevention}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jmapro.2025.12.036}}, volume = {{157}}, year = {{2026}}, } @article{63418, abstract = {{Manufacturing tolerances have a measurable influence on the structural integrity of self-piercing riveted (SPR) joints in automotive applications, yet their quantitative impact on load-bearing behavior remains insufficiently resolved. This study establishes a validated hierarchical methodology to predict tolerance-dependent failure behavior of SPR joints, progressing from coupon to sub-component scale through an integrated experimental–numerical approach. Five critical manufacturing tolerances, including rivet length (±0.5 mm), rivet head position (±0.3 mm), orthogonality deviation (2.8° and 5°), lateral offset (up to 1.2 mm), and flange overlap reduction (up to 7.5 mm), were investigated. Steel–steel joints exhibited a higher sensitivity to tolerances by a factor of 2–3 compared to steel–aluminum joints. A unified effective rivet length concept was developed to consolidate the geometric effects of all tolerances into a single physically meaningful parameter, enabling load-bearing capacity prediction with R2 > 0.95 across all evaluated loading directions. The sub-component validation employing T-joint specimens indicates a 2–3 fold amplification of tolerance effects at critical structural regions, providing experimental evidence for the hierarchical scaling principle. The methodology was implemented in a tolerance-dependent CONSTRAINED_SPR3 formulation, providing >99 % computational efficiency improvement while maintaining a deviation in maximum force prediction within ±7 %. This framework enables the physically consistent representation of manufacturing variation within large-scale simulations and establishes a transferable basis for tolerance-resilient virtual vehicle development.}}, author = {{Olfert, Viktoria and Yang, Keke and Rochel, Philip and Bähr, Philipp and Hein, David and Sommer, Silke and Meschut, Gerson}}, issn = {{1526-6125}}, journal = {{Journal of Manufacturing Processes}}, number = {{Special issue entitled: ‘Trends on spot joining’ published in Journal of Manufacturing Processes.}}, pages = {{1250--1273}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{Predictive modeling of tolerance-dependent failure behavior of self-pierce riveted joints: From coupon-level tests to sub-component validation}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jmapro.2025.12.058}}, volume = {{157}}, year = {{2026}}, } @article{62005, author = {{Böhm, Yannic and Kappe, Fabian and Han, Daxin and Nordmann, Elmar and Yang, Keke and Jendrny, Jörg and Gorr, Eugen and Meschut, Gerson}}, issn = {{1526-6125}}, journal = {{Journal of Manufacturing Processes}}, pages = {{171--184}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{Single-step self-punching lockbolt process and equipment development for pre-hole-free joining of aluminum sheets using a dual-die system}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jmapro.2025.10.027}}, volume = {{155}}, year = {{2025}}, } @article{58535, author = {{Yang, Keke and Wang, Zhuoqun and Haak, Viktor and Olfert, Viktoria and El-Sari, Bassel and Hein, David and Biegler, Max and Rethmeier, Michael and Meschut, Gerson}}, issn = {{1526-6125}}, journal = {{Journal of Manufacturing Processes}}, pages = {{306--319}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{A novel welding schedule for expanding the expulsion-free process window in resistance spot welding of dissimilar joints with ultra-high strength steel}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jmapro.2025.02.009}}, volume = {{137}}, year = {{2025}}, } @article{61524, author = {{Einwag, Jonathan-Markus and Steinfelder, Christian and Wartzack, Sandro and Brosius, Alexander and Goetz, Stefan}}, issn = {{1526-6125}}, journal = {{Journal of Manufacturing Processes}}, pages = {{179--191}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{From simulation to metamodel to experiment: Evaluating the prediction accuracy of polynomial regression models for clinch joint properties}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jmapro.2025.09.059}}, volume = {{154}}, year = {{2025}}, } @article{52201, author = {{Han, Daxin and Kappe, Fabian and Vorderbrüggen, Julian and Jendrny, Jörg and Gorr, Eugen and Meschut, Gerson}}, issn = {{1526-6125}}, journal = {{Journal of Manufacturing Processes}}, keywords = {{Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Management Science and Operations Research, Strategy and Management}}, pages = {{92--108}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{Single-step self-punching lockbolt process for aluminum sheets without pre-hole}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jmapro.2024.02.043}}, volume = {{116}}, year = {{2024}}, } @article{54847, abstract = {{The widespread adoption of ultra-high strength steels, due to their high bulk resistivity, intensifies expulsion issues in resistance spot welding (RSW), deteriorating both the spot weld and surface quality. This study presents a novel approach to prevent expulsion by employing a preheating current. Through characteristic analysis of joint formation under critical welding current, the importance of plastic material encapsulation around the weld nugget (plastic shell) at high temperatures in preventing expulsion is highlighted. To evaluate the effect of preheating on the plastic shell and understand its mechanism in expulsion prevention, a two-dimensional welding simulation model for dissimilar ultra-high strength steel joints was established. The results showed that optimal preheating enhances the thickness of the plastic shell, improving its ability to encapsulate the weld nugget during the primary welding phase, thereby diminishing expulsion risks. Experimental validation confirmed that by employing the optimal preheating current, the maximum nugget diameter was enhanced to 9.42 mm, marking an increase of 13.4 % and extending the weldable current range by 27.5 %. Under quasi-static cross-tensile loading, joints with preheating demonstrated a 7.9 % enhancement in maximum load-bearing capacity compared to joints without preheating, showing a reproducible and complete pull-out failure mode within the heat-affected zone. This study offers a prevention method based on underlying mechanisms, providing a new perspective for future research on welding parameter optimization with the aim of expulsion prevention.}}, author = {{Yang, Keke and El-Sari, Bassel and Olfert, Viktoria and Wang, Zhuoqun and Biegler, Max and Rethmeier, Michael and Meschut, Gerson}}, issn = {{1526-6125}}, journal = {{Journal of Manufacturing Processes}}, keywords = {{Expulsion Resistance spot welding Finite element modelling Preheating Weldable current range Ultra-high strength steel}}, pages = {{489--502}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{Expulsion prevention in resistance spot welding of dissimilar joints with ultra-high strength steel: An analysis of the mechanism and effect of preheating current}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jmapro.2024.06.034}}, volume = {{124}}, year = {{2024}}, } @article{34244, author = {{Kappe, Fabian and Zirngibl, Christoph and Schleich, Benjamin and Bobbert, Mathias and Wartzack, Sandro and Meschut, Gerson}}, issn = {{1526-6125}}, journal = {{Journal of Manufacturing Processes}}, keywords = {{Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Management Science and Operations Research, Strategy and Management}}, pages = {{1438--1448}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{Determining the influence of different process parameters on the versatile self-piercing riveting process using numerical methods}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jmapro.2022.11.019}}, volume = {{84}}, year = {{2022}}, } @article{24570, author = {{Frolov, Yaroslav and Haranich, Yurii and Bobukh, Olexandr and Remez, Oleg and Voswinkel, Dietrich and Grydin, Olexandr}}, issn = {{1526-6125}}, journal = {{Journal of Manufacturing Processes}}, pages = {{857--867}}, title = {{{Deformation of expanded steel mesh inlay inside aluminum matrix during the roll bonding}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jmapro.2020.08.049}}, volume = {{58}}, year = {{2020}}, }