Resistance spot welding is the most widely used joining method in automobile manufacture. The number, location, and quality of welds are some of the factors that influence the performance of welded subassemblies, and body panel structures. Therefore, design optimization requires knowledge of not only sheet metal behavior, but also weld behavior under service loadings. A linear elastic fracture mechanics approach was employed in this study to estimate the fatigue lives of spot welds subjected to tearing loads in a coach-peel specimen. Using a finite element method (FEM), the initial J-intergral values for five coach-peel joints, each with different geometries, were calculated. Fatigue tests conducted on the same weld geometries provided life data. The experimental data were used to derive a relationship between the initial elastic J-integral values (DELTA-J(e)) and the fatigue life. It was found that the total fatigue life (N(f)) of a weld at one applied stress range is related to its range of J-intergral value such that a DELTA-J(e) vs N(f) log-log plot gives a straight line relationship. This relationship can be used to evaluate the effects of geometrical variables on the fatigue life of coach-peel joints. The results show that, within the dimension range studied here, the effects of geometrical variables on the fatigue resistance can be ranked in the following decreasing order: weld eccentricity, sheet thickness and weld nugget diameter.
