Analysis of uncertainty in the strength of spot welding car body solder joint

Abstract

Purpose

Aiming at the problems of poor accuracy and limitation in strength assessment of spot welding vehicle body caused by uncertain factors, such as key component size and nugget diameter, the numerical models of strength uncertainty analysis of spot-welded joints were constructed based on evidence theory and fuzzy theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Evidence theory and fuzzy theory are used to deal with the uncertainty of design parameter, and differential evolution algorithms are used to calculate the propagation process of uncertainty in this model. Furthermore, efficient relationship between the strength of welded joints and each design parameter is constructed by using response surface proxy model, which effectively avoids the problem of repeated complex finite element analysis in uncertainty analysis.

Findings

The results show that the constructed uncertainty numerical model is effective for the multiple uncertainties and give interval results under different probabilities and affiliations, which can more effectively evaluate the strength of the welded body structure to avoid overly conservative estimates for deterministic design.

Originality/value

The evidence theory is improved and combined with differential evolution algorithm and response surface method to effectively improve the computational efficiency. Based on the improved evidence theory and fuzzy algorithm, the numerical models for the uncertainty analysis of solder joint strength of welded structures are constructed and their feasibility is verified.

Citation

Ku, Z., Xue, Q., Wang, G. and Liu, S. (2022), "Analysis of uncertainty in the strength of spot welding car body solder joint", International Journal of Structural Integrity, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 30-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSI-03-2021-0025