First, atwo-spot-weldedjointsubjectedtoanaxialloadcycle
with constantloadamplitudewereoptimizedinwhich y coordinate
ofthespotweldsandoverlappinglengthwerechosenas
design variables.Startingfromdifferentinitialdesigns,theopti-
mization processwasrepeatedmanytimes.Inoneofthesetrials,
the initialcoordinatesofthespotweldswere(0,16)mmand(0,
16) mmandtheoverlappinglength(‘) was80mm.Critical
stresses developedontheinnersurfacesoftheplates. Fig. 11 shows
the distributionof sxx component ofstress(beforeoptimization)on
the innersurfaceofoneoftheplatescorrespondingtothe
maximum andtheminimumloads,respectively.Dashedlines
show theboundariesofthecontactregionaroundthespotwelds.