Acoustic Microscopy of Internal Structure of Resistance Spot Welds

Acoustic microscopy, although relatively new, has many advantages within the industrial quality control process. Its high degree of sensitivity, resolution, and reliability make it ideal for use in resistance spot weld analysis, aiding in visualization of small-scale nugget failures, as well as other defects, at various depths. Acoustic microscopy makes it possible to inspect fine detail of internal structures, providing reliable inspection and characterization of weld joints. Besides weld size measurements, this technique is able to provide high resolution, three-dimensional images of the weld nuggets, revealing possible imperfections within its microstructure that may affect joint quality. The high degree of accuracy allows one to consider the results of acoustic microscopy an authoritative measure of weld size, particularly in the case of high strength steels, dual phase steel, USIBOR steel, etc. Indeed, this technique is effective even when both conventional ultrasound and hammer and chisel methods are not. In this paper, the potential of scanning acoustic microscopy as a means to provide qualitative and quantitative information about the internal microstructure of the resistance spot welds is demonstrated. Thus, acoustic microscopy is shown to be a unique and effective laboratory instrument for the evaluation and calibration of weld quality.