Abstract
This paper describes an investigation of the effects of the chemical composition of the base material on the quality of flash welds. Bending tests of welds were run for 43 types of steel sheets, including solution‐strengthened, precipitation‐strengthened, and complex structure‐strengthened (dual‐phase) high‐strength steels up to 590 MPa. A fractographic analysis showed cracks at the weld interface to be caused by oxide inclusions. Aluminium, silicon, and manganese are the major constituents of the inclusions, and the relative intensity of effect of these elements broadly has an Al:Si:Mn = 10:1:0.01 sequence. Carbon is also shown to affect interface cracking by reducing weld ductility. An equivalent formula is experimentally established to determine the effects of these elements on interface cracking. The ordinary bending test is shown to be a simple and reliable method for quantitative evaluation of the interface quality of flash welds, with the notch bending test being more effective for evaluation purposes.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: