Comparison of Metallurgical and Ultrasonic Inspections of Galvanized Steel Resistance Spot Welds

Metallurgical examination of galvanized steel resistance spot welds was used to gauge the capabilities of two ultrasonic, non‐destructive, scanning techniques. One method utilized the amplitude of the echo from the weld faying surface, while the other used the spectral content of the echo train to map the fused area. The specimens were subsequently sectioned and etched, to distinguish the fused, zinc‐brazed, and non‐fused areas. The spectral maps better matched the metallurgical maps, while the interface‐amplitude method consistently overestimated the weld size.