Multi-spot ultrasonic welding of thermoplastic composite single-lap joints

Effect of spot spacing and number of spots on weld strength

Conference paper (2020)

Authors

T. Zhao Structural Integrity & Composites - Aerospace Engineering
Ioannis Tsakoniatis Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies - Aerospace Engineering
C.D. Rans Structural Integrity & Composites - Aerospace Engineering
I.F. Villegas Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies - Aerospace Engineering
R. Benedictus Structural Integrity & Composites - Aerospace Engineering
Research Group
Structural Integrity & Composites (Aerospace Engineering) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2020 T. Zhao, Ioannis Tsakoniatis, C.D. Rans, I.F. Villegas, R. Benedictus
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

2020

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Aerospace Engineering

Department

Aerospace Structures & Materials

Research Group

Structural Integrity & Composites

Abstract

Thermoplastic composite spot welded joints are more well-suited for carrying shear load rather than peel load. However, peel load is difficult to be eliminated in single-lap joint configuration. In this paper, a series of mechanical tests were carried out to study the effects of the spot spacing and the number of welded spots on the secondary bending and subsequently on the strength of the multi-spot welded joints. Based on that, a comparative study was performed on the load-carrying capability of multi-spot welded and mechanically fastened joints assembled with multi-row fasteners. It was found that, by increasing the spot spacing and the number of welded spots, the secondary bending of the multi-spot welded joints can be effectively decreased, which eventually results in a comparable load-carrying capability with respect to the mechanically fastened joints.