Development of an Inline Testing Method for Resistance Spot Riveting

Dissimilar-material joining is becoming increasingly sought after in several industries – including automotive, aerospace, and rail – due to the potential to improve vehicle weight reduction and efficiency while maintaining safety and structural strength. Resistance Spot Riveting (RSRTM) is a novel joining technology designed to enable inexpensive, efficient, and effective dissimilar-material joining. As it stands, no proven methodology nor technology exists for RSR process monitoring or quality control. This current lack of sufficient joint evaluation inhibits the adoption of RSR. The purpose of this research project is to design, optimize, and implement a real-time inline automated ultrasonic inspection system for RSR. The main objectives of this research include (1) the optimization of the ultrasonic scanning methodology and electrode cap geometry, experimentation and derivation of proper ultrasonic configuration for noise-free and reliable data collection, (2) the creation of a large dataset of ultrasonic data and corresponding physical joints, (3) correlation studies between ultrasonic data and physical properties of the welds, (4) development of artificial intelligence (AI) model for automated characterization of RSR joints from ultrasonic scan data, (5) deployment of the new software to the ultrasonic monitoring system specific for RSR capable of automatic decision making about the joint quality.

Faculty Supervisor:

Roman Maev

Student:

Partner:

CenterLine Limited

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Advanced Manufacturing; Automotive; Transportation (excluding aerospace)

University:

University of Windsor

Program: