Effects of Welding Current and Material Thickness on Hardness and Tensile Strength of SPCC Steel Welded Using the Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Process
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32497/jrm.v21i1.7211Keywords:
MIG welding, SPCC steel, welding current, plat thickness, hardness, tensile strengthAbstract
This study investigates the effect of welding current and material thickness on the hardness and tensile strength of cold-rolled SPCC steel welded using the Metal Inert Gas (MIG) process. Welding current was varied at 80 A, 90 A, and 100 A, while material thicknesses of 0.9 mm, 1.4 mm, and 2.0 mm were used. Specimens were prepared according to the ASTM E8 standard for tensile testing. Hardness measurements were conducted in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and base metal using the Leeb hardness method, while tensile properties were evaluated through tensile testing. The results show that welding current and material thickness significantly affect the mechanical properties of the welded joints. The highest hardness value of 672 HLD was obtained at a welding current of 100 A with a plate thickness of 0.9 mm, whereas the lowest hardness value of 232 HLD occurred at 80 A with a thickness of 2.0 mm. The highest average tensile strength of 340.56 N/mm² was achieved at 90 A with a thickness of 1.4 mm. The results indicate that a moderate welding current provides optimal tensile performance, whereas higher current levels increase hardness due to greater heat input during the welding process. Therefore, appropriate parameter selection is essential to achieve optimal welding performance in thin SPCC steel plates.
References
[1] Akulwar S, Akela A, Satish Kumar D, Ranjan M. Resistance Spot Welding Behavior of Automotive Steels. Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals 2021;74:601–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12666-020-02155-9.
[2] Handbook W. WFS. Welding Handbook vol. 3 - Welding Processes, Part 2 2007.
[3] Kearns WH. Welding Handbook Volume 3: Resistance and Solid-State Welding and Other Joining Processes. . vol. 3. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B; 1980.
[4] Wijoyo W, Mujahid M, Nurhidayat A, Surjadi E, Saefuloh I. The effect of current strength on tensile strength and impact toughness of cast iron welded joints. Teknika: Jurnal Sains Dan Teknologi 2021;17:125. https://doi.org/10.36055/tjst.v17i2.11216.
[5] Bhuyan P, Sahoo SS, Mahananda S, Bagal DK. Optimisation of resistance spot welding parameters using Taguchi’s orthogonal array. Mater Today Proc 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2024.01.052.
[6] Sukarman S, Abdulah A. Optimasi parameter resistance spot welding pada pengabungan baja electro-galvanized menggunakan metode Taguchi. Dinamika Teknik Mesin 2021;11:39. https://doi.org/10.29303/dtm.v11i1.372.
[7] Hapsari FK, Putra WS, Nugroho TA, Hutama AS, Kurniawan P. The effect analysis of wire speed, cycle and break time interval to tensile strength of SUS 304 and SPHC joint using cold metal transfer welding method on truarc weld 1000 machine, 2025, p. 020008. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0227829.
[8] Ma Y, Takikawa A, Nakanishi J, Doira K, Shimizu T, Lu Y, Ma N. Measurement of local material properties and failure analysis of resistance spot welds of advanced high-strength steel sheets. Mater Des 2021;201:109505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2021.109505.
[9] Okayasu M, Ohkura Y, Sakamoto T, Takeuchi S, Ohfuji H, Shiraishi T. Mechanical properties of SPCC low carbon steel joints prepared by metal inert gas welding. Materials Science and Engineering: A 2013;560:643–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2012.10.008.
[10] ASTM International. Standard Test Methods for Tension Testing of Metallic Materials. West Conshohocken: n.d.
[11] Kang S-W, Park Y-M, Jang B-S, Jeon Y-C, Kim S-M. Study on fatigue experiment for transverse butt weldsunder 2G and 3G weld positions. International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering 2015;7:833–47. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijnaoe-2015-0059.
[12] Sindo Kou. Welding Engineering and Technology Welding Metallurgy. 2nd Edition. 2nd ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons; 2003.
[13] M. Shafeek, S. S. Salins, D. Doreswamy, and H. K. Sachidananda, “Effect of welding parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of GMAW welded steel,” Discover Materials, vol. 4, 2024
[14] H. Ko, H. J. Kim, D. Y. Kim, and J. Yu, “Improving the metal inert gas welding efficiency and microstructural stability in automotive components,” Metals, vol. 15, no. 1, 2025.
[15] S. Weis, R. Grunert, S. Brumm, and U. Prank, “Study on MIG–TIG hybrid brazing of galvanised thin sheet,” Welding in the World, vol. 67, pp. 1215–1221, 2023.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Sutrisno Sutrisno, Yohanes Maria Astomo Dwi S, Aditya Nugraha, Adhi Setya Hutama, Rudi Kristianto, Yohanes Oscar Andrian
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright of articles that appear in Jurnal Rekayasa Mesin belongs exclusively to Penerbit Jurusan Teknik Mesin Politeknik Negeri Semarang. This copyright covers the rights to reproduce the article, including reprints, electronic reproductions, or any other reproductions of similar nature.
